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NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 




PARABLES 



THE NEW-TESTAMENT, 



ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE TIME IN WHICH THEY 
WERE SPOKEN. 




BY THOMAS WHITTEMORE* 



BOSTON : 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 40, CORNHILL. 
1832. 



SS&%£*>*N 



• V»« 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1832, by 
Thomas Whittemore, in the Clerk's office of the District Court of 
Massachusetts. 



yjxjL 



The Library 

ESS 



f 



DEDICATION 



To the Rev, Hosea Ballon : 

Respected Brother: — Having brought 
the following work to a close, I am impelled 
by a sense of my individual obligations to 
you, and of the debt of gratitude under which 
you have laid the Universalist community by 
your long and unremitted services, to make 
this insufficient acknowledgment. When 
you was about my age, you made the Para- 
bles of the New Testament the subject of 
particular and careful study, and at that 
time produced your highly valuable work 
which has since passed through repeated edi- 
tions, and been very generally read by the 
religious denomination to which we belong, 
I am a humble follower in the path which 
you marked out. This work, on which I 
take the liberty to inscribe your name, was 



commenced before it came to mv knowledge 
that you intended revising your own. I re- 
joice that you have bestowed on the third 
edition the fruit of your study and reflection, 
since its first appearance. It may not be im- 
proper to add, that this work has been pre- 
pared and published with the knowledge 
and encouragement of the respected book- 
sellers, who possess the copy right of your 
Notes. 

There will be found, respected Brothe 
a close agreement between our application 
of the Parables. The principal difference 
is this: I have brought forward, in defence 
of the views we entertain, the testimony of 
commentators of various denominations ; and 
I have endeavoured to make the Parables 
better understood, and account for the im- 
agery used in many of them, by a reference 
to the laws, customs and habits of the eastern 
nations. I regret that I have not been able 
to attain this part of my object to a fuller ex- 
tent. 

In the hope that your valuable life and la- 
bors may be continued yet many } ears, I 
subscribe myself affectionately yours, 

THOMAS WHITTEMORE. 




CONTENTS. 



Parable of the Axe, 1 

Parable of the Winnowing Fan, 3 

Parable of the Salt of the Earth, 6 

Parable of the Light of the World, 8 

Parable of the Offending Hand or Foot, 10 

Parable of the Strait Gate, 20 

Parable of the Good and Corrupt Tree, 24 

Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder, 26 

Parable of the Bruised Reed, 29 

Parable of the Unclean Spirit, 33 

Parable of the Sower, 38 

Parable of the Tares of the Field, 44 

Parable of the Mustard Seed, 53 

Parable of the Leaven, 55 

Parable of the Treasure, 58 

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, 60 

Parable of the Net, 61 
Parable of the Old Garment and Old Bottles, 64 

Parable of the Two Debtors, 69 

Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, 74 

Parable of the Good Samaritan, 79 
Parable of the Man who doated on Riches, 85 

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, 89 

Parable of the Master of the House, 95 

Parable of the Great Supper, 103 






CONTENTS. 

Parable of the Counting the Cost, 118 

Parable of the Lost Sheep, 123 

Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver, 127 

Parable of the Prodigal Son, 129 

Parable of the Unjust Steward, 137 

Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, 144 

Parable of the Unjust Judge, 171 

Parable of the Pharisee and Publican, 176 

Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, 182 

Parable of the Two Sons, 19i 

Parable of the Unfaithful Husbandmen. 196 

Parable of the Marriage Feast, 202 

Parable of the Ten Virgins, 213 

Parable of the Unfaithful Servant, 219 

Parable of the Sheep and Goats, 223 



NOTES OJY THE PARABLES* 



Parable of the Axe* 

MATTHEW III. 10— LUKE III. 9. 

™And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees : there- 
fore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn 
down, and cast into the fire.'" — Matt, ill, 1<K 

This parable was spoken by John the Baptist to 
the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his bap- 
tism. Matt. iii. 7. He rebuked them severely for 
their wickedness, and inquired who had warned 
them to flee from the " wrath to come." The ex- 
pression here rendered u wrath to come," is trans- 
lated by Dr. Campbell the u impending vengeance," 
and unquestionably refers to the awful judgments 
which then awaited the Jews in the destruction of 
their nation. He then requires them to bring forth 
fruits meet for repentance, or the proper fruits of 
reformation ; and exhorts them not to depend too 
much on their descent from the patriarch Abra- 
ham, for God was able to raise up children unto 
Abraham even from inanimate things. He did 
raise up children unto Abraham from among the 
Gentiles, whom the Jews regarded as stocks and 
stones, and who were represented as coming and 
sitting down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in 



2 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the kingdom of the Messiah. The Jews were not 
only proud of their ancestry, but they relied on it 
for safety in times of public danger and calamity ; 
and hence the rich man in the parable (Luke xvi. 
24,) is represented as calling on Abraham as his 
father, and begging him to send relief- 

To show them that the destruction of the nation 
was to be total, John says, "the axe is laid unto 
the root of the trees." It is not a few branches 
which are to be cut off, the tree itself must fall. As 
the tree which beareth not good fruit is hewn down 
and cast into the fire, so shall it be with this na- 
tion. They are corrupt, they are a seed of evil 
doers, they bring forth the fruit of sin ; God shall 
cause them to fall, and they shall be fuel for the 
fire of divine judgments. 

The figure which John here employed, he un- 
questionably derived from the Jewish prophets. 
The destruction of Egypt is described by Jeremiah 
in very similar language. Jer. xlvi, 22, 23. "They 
shall march with an army, and come against her 
with axes, as hewers of wood. They shall cut 
down her forest, saith the Lord." The fall of As- 
syria is described in the same manner by Ezekiel. 
" The Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair 
branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an 
high stature, and his top was among the thick 
boughs. * * * Therefore thus saith the Lord 
God : Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, 
and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, 
and his heart is lifted up in his height ; I have 
therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty 
one of the heathen : he shall surely deal with him : 
I have driven him out for his wickedness. And as 
strangers, the terrible of the nations, have cut him 
off, and have left him : upon the mountains and in 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 3 

all the valleys his branches are fallen, and his 
boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land ; 
and all people of the earth are gone down from his 
shadow, and have left him." Ezek. xxxi, 10 — 12. 
See the whole of the chapter. Isaiah also says, 
" Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts shall lop the 
bough with terror : and the high ones of stature 
shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be 
humbled. And he shall cut down the thickets of 
the forests with iron, and Lebanon shall be a mighty 
one." Isa. x, 33, 34. 

In the view which we have given of this parable, 
commentators of all denominations agree. Adam 
Clarke, in his Commentary on the New Testament; 
Kenrick, in his Exposition ; Lightfoot, in his Har- 
mony of the Evangelists ; the Continuators of 
Poole's Annotations ; Dr. Hammond, in his Para- 
phrase and Annotations ; Bishop Pearce, in his 
Commentary ; Dr. Gill in his Exposition, and oth- 
ers, too numerous to mention, give the same ex- 
planation we have given. Although the passage 
was formerly by some applied to a future state of 
punishment, such an application is now abandoned 
except by the ignorant and indiscreet. 



Parable of the Winnowing* Fan. 

MATT. III. 12— LUKE III. 17. 

" Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge 
his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner ; but he will burn 
up the chaff with unquenchable fire.' 9 — Matt, iii, 12. 

As in the first parable the destruction of the 
Jews was foretold under the figure of cutting down 



4 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

a tree, and casting it into the fire, so in this the dis- 
tinction that was to be made, at the time of that 
calamity, between the believing and unbelieving 
part of the nation, is represented by the separation 
of wheat from chaff, the former of which was gath- 
ered into the garner, the latter was burned with 
" unquenchable fire." The threshing floors of the 
Jews were built in places well exposed to the wind, 
and advantages were taken of strong winds for the 
purposes of winnowing. By the use of the " win- 
nowing shovel," a translation which Campbell pre- 
fers to the fan, the body of threshed grain was 
thrown into the wind, which separated the lighter 
from the more solid parts. The chaff, of no value, 
was consumed, but the wheat was gathered into 
the granary. 

This figure was perfectly just, and the propriety 
of it was afterwards shown by matter of fact. Je- 
sus Christ did thoroughly purge or cleanse his 
threshing floor. The chaff was separated from the 
wheat. The unbelieving part of the house of Israel 
was separated from the believers. The former 
were destroyed by the fire of the judgments which 
came on Jerusalem, and which burned until the 
nation was wholly extirpated, for it could not be 
quenched. The latter were preserved. Perceiv- 
ing the signs which Jesus had pointed out as pre- 
cursors of the overthrow of Jerusalem, they fled 
into the mountainous parts of Judea, (Matt. xxiv. 
16,) where, like wheat in the granary, they were 
safe from the raging element which devoured the 
chaff. 

The more ancient Jewish writers were in the 
habit of representing nations about to be severely 
judged, as grain on the threshing floor. Thus 
Isaiah xxi. 10 : " my threshing, and the corn of 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 5 

my floor, that which I have heard of the Lord of 
Hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you." 
And in Jeremiah xv. 7 : " And I will fan them with 
a fan in the gates of the land ; I will bereave them 
of children, I will destroy my people, since they re- 
turn not from their ways." 

The phrase "unquenchable jftre," has been by some 
adduced to prove the doctrine of never ending pun- 
ishment. If the explanation we have given of this 
parable be proper, (and we are supported in it by 
writers of the highest note who believed in end- 
less misery,) we cannot see how this "unquench- 
able fire" can be supposed to exist in the future 
state at all. The threshing floor was not there, 
nor was the winnowing shovel there, nor was the 
operation of separating the chaff from the wheat 
done there; and why the burning of the chaff should 
be supposed to take place in some other state of 
existence, we cannot imagine. The husbandman 
generally burned his chaff where it accumulated 
after the operation of threshing and winnowing ; 
he did not think of taking it away into some other 
part of the land and burning it. The fire which is 
mentioned in the parable, was the fire of divine 
judgment which fell on Judea, and it was called 
unquenchable, inasmuch as it did not subside until 
the work of destruction was fully done. But for a 
more full exposition of the phrase " unquenchable 
fire," see the notes on Markix. 43 — 48. 



6 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 



Parable of the Salt of the Earth. 

MATT. V. 13. 

" Ye are the salt of the earth : but if the salt have lost his sa- 
vour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for 
nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of 
men." 

This parable occurs in the Sermon on the Mount, 
which appears to have been addressed particularly 
to the disciples of Christ. W When he was set his 
disciples came unto him ; and he opened his mouth 
and taught them, saying, &c." vers. 1, 2. That 
Jesus was addressing his disciples seems further 
evident from verses 11 and 12. " Blessed are ye 
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and 
say all manner of evil against you falsely for my 
sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad ; for great is 
your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the 
prophets who were before you." 

The disciples were " the salt of the earth." 
Every one knows the preserving qualities of salt. 
In the hot climate of Judea. it was so necessary a 
thing, that no meat could be preserved sweet, 
though but for a short time, without it. The dis- 
ciples, from their knowledge of the doctrine of 
Christ, and their efforts to spread it in the world, 
would perform the same office for mankind that 
salt does for animal food ; they would save men 
from corruption and impurity in their doctrines and 
practices. 

"But if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it 
be salUdV The application of this is very easy. 
It is a common thing for salt, when exposed to the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 7 

air in hot countries, to lose its saline quality. 
Maundrell, in his book of travels, describing the 
valley of salt, speaks thus : " Along on one side of 
the valley towards Gibul, there is a small precipice 
about two men's lengths, occasioned by the con- 
tinual taking away of the salt ; and in this you may 
see how the veins of it lie. I broke a piece of it, 
of which that part that was exposed to the rain, 
sun and air, though it had the sparks and particles 
of salt, yet it had perfectly lost its savour ; the inner 
part which was connected to the rock, retained its 
savour as I found by proof." If the disciples should 
lose the savour of the divine word, how could they 
benefit mankind ? The church of Christ did in time 
lose its savour, and during that time it exercised 
no good influence upon the world. u It is thenceforth 
good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be Jrodden un- 
der foot of men." Adam Clarke gives a paragraph 
from Schoetgenius, which may with propriety be 
introduced in this place. u There was a species 
of salt in Judea, which was generated at the lake 
Asphaltitis, and hence called bituminous salt, easily 
rendered vapid and of no other use but to be spread 
in a part of the temple, to prevent the slipping in 
wet weather. This is probably what our Lord al- 
ludes to in this place." Christians, without the 
power of divine truth, would be equally useless ; 
and would be rejected as insipid salt, or the vilest 
substances. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 



Parable of the Light of the World. 

MATT. V. 14, 15. 

" Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill 
cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it un- 
der a bushel, but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light unto all 
that are in the house." — Matt. v. 14 — 15. 

This parable, like the preceding, was spoken to 
the disciples ; and the design of it was to induce 
them not to be ashamed of him and his words, but 
to make an open profession of their faith before the 
world. 

" Ye are the light of the world." They were the 
repositories of truth ; and as truth was moral light, 
the discipfes, as sources of it to mankind, are called 
" the light of the world." As God made use of the 
sun to give light to the natural world, so he em- 
ployed Christians to illuminate the minds of man- 
kind by shedding upon them the rays of divine 
truth. Adam Clarke says, "light of the world was a 
title applied to the most eminent Rabbins. Christ 
transfers the title from these, and gives it to his 
own disciples, who, by the doctrines that he taught 
them, were to be the means of diffusing the light 
of life throughout the Universe." 

Jesus next refers to the importance of their shew- 
ing this light. " A city that is set on a hill cannot 
be hid." It is supposed that he drew his figure 
from the city of Bethulia, which was situated upon 
a mountain, in plain sight of the spot where he 
delivered these instructions. With this view Maun- 
drell says, "A few points towards the north (of 
Tabor) appears that which they call the mount of 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 9 

beatitudes, a small rising, from which our blessed 
Saviour delivered his Sermon in the 5th, 6th and 
7th chapters of Matt. Not far from this little hill 
is the city Saphet, supposed to be the ancient JSe- 
thulia. It stands upon a very eminent and conspicu- 
ous mountain, and is seen far and near. May we 
not suppose that Christ alludes to this city, in these 
words of his, " A city set on a hill cannot be hid." 
"Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bush- 
el, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that 
are in the house." Those who make themselves ac- 
quainted with the truth, and hesitate to profess it 
before men, are chargeable with the same folly 
with the man who should light a candle, and then 
hide it under a bushel. The very object of light- 
ing a candle is to give light — the object of hiding 
it would be to conceal that light ; and it is there- 
fore preposterously absurd that those who light a 
candle should put it under a bushel. Truth is moral 
light. Those who ignite the torch of the mind 
with its holy flame, should not endeavor to hide the 
light thereof; but let it shine before men, that oth- 
ers may see it and glorify God. Jesus would not 
that any should be ashamed of him. u Whosoever 
shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him 
shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he cometh 
in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels." 
The apostle exhorts his Hebrew brethren to u hold 
fast the profession of their faith without wavering." 
Truth is not a thing of which man may be asham- 
ed ; and hence the exhortation is highly proper, 
" Let your light shine before men, that they may 
see your good works, and glorify your Father which 
is in heaven." At the death of Christ, u when the 
centurion saw what was done, he glorified God." 
He professed that Jesus was a righteous person. 



10 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

So by manifesting our faith before mankind, we 
shall bring them to believe in Christ, and thus 
will they glorify our Father in heaven, as the cen- 
turion did. 

This parable furnishes a severe reproof to those 
of the present day, who have not courage to avow 
the convictions of their own minds. What they 
are persuaded is truth, they keep hidden. Pro- 
fessed ministers of the gospel are sometimes guilty 
of this unchristian practice. The love of the world, 
and the fear of man, sway them with a stronger 
influence than a desire to do their duty. They 
u light a candle, and put it under a bushel." 



Parable of the offending Hand or Foot. 

MATT. V. 29, 30 : XVIII. 8, 9— MARK IX. 43—48. 

"And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee 
to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, 
into the fire that never shall be quenched : Where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend 
thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than 
having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall 
be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better 
for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than 
having two eyes to be cast into hell fire, Where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." — Mark ix. 43 — 48. 

As this parable is one which has been often mis- 
applied, and, as it has been generally used in de- 
fence of the doctrine of endless torment, and more- 
over, as it is now thought to be one of the principal 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 11 

supports of that sentiment, we propose to examine 
it at some length, and make the notes as particu- 
lar as possible. 

1 . We shall show what is intended by cutting 
off a hand, or a foot, or plucking out an eye. 

2. What is intended by entering into " life" (ver. 
43) or "the kingdom of God" (ver. 47.) 

3. The true sense of the word "hell" and of the 
phrase "hell fire." 

4. Consider the words, "Where their worm 
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Vers. 44, 
46, 48. 

5. Illustrate the proposition, that it was better 
to part with the offending member, than to be cast 
into "hell fire." 

1. What is intended by cutting off a hand, or a 
foot, or plucking out an eye. The evident sense of 
the figure is, let nothing prevent you from embracing my 
gospel, and entering into life. By observing Matt, v. 
28, it will be perceived that Jesus had been speak- 
ing of a sin, into which men were led by the instru- 
mentality of the eye. He then immediately adds, 
" If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast 
it from thee." Forego all gratifications inconsis- 
tent with virtue, and the moral laws of my king- 
dom ; for it is better so to do, than by giving your- 
selves up to sin, to be totally destroyed. Arch- 
Bishop Newcome says on these words, "if thy 
hand offend thee, &c. "This is a strong eastern 
manner of expressing that seductions to sin, and 
particularly stumbling blocks in the way of openly 
professing the gospel at that season, should be 
avoided at all events ; and that the causes of guilt 
and apostacy should be removed, whatever favor- 
ite gratifications were foregone, whatever tempo- 
ral evils were endured." 1 Mr. Ballou has taken 

* Newcome's Observations, Charlestown, 1810, pp. 32, 33. 



12 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

a little different view of this subject. "The evi- 
dent meaning of the Saviour," says he, "seems 
to be this : if one of your nearest connexions in the 
world, even if one as dear to you as a hand, should 
oppose your yielding obedience to the gospel, part 
with this dear connexion rather than part with 
divine truth. And though you thereby feel as one 
who has lost a hand, yet what you gain is more 
than what you lose. In this connexion Jesus men- 
tions the cutting off of a foot, and the plucking out 
of an eye, for the same cause as the cutting off of 
the hand ; and it is very evident that this recom- 
mendation was given on account of the opposition 
that was constantly in exercise against the cause 
of truth, and which he knew would increase unto 
grievous persecution." 1 The views taken by both 
these writers may be considered just. No tempta- 
tions, no friends, nothing on earth, should have 
hindered men from entering the kingdom of Christ; 
every thing must have been foregone when put 
into competition with this ; since, in that age, the 
greatest calamities ever known fell on the enemies 
of the Son of God. 

2. What is intended by entering into "life," or 
the " kingdom of God.- ; Tnat these two phrases 
are synonunous will be evident by comparing vers. 
43 and 47. To enter " life" in the scriptures, is to 
enter into the belief and enjoyment of the truth. 
Hence the Saviour saith, "This is life eternal, 
that they might know thee the only true God, and 
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." John xvii. 3- 
Here the knowledge of God is called (i eternal life." 
Again, in John, v. 24, we read, " Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, he that heareth my word, and be- 
lieveth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and 

i See Lecture Sermons, p. 217. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 13 

shall not come into condemnation, but is passed (i. e. 
is already passed) from death unto life." John 
says, " We know that we have passed from death 
unto life, because we love the brethren : he that 
loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1 John iii. 
14. These passages certainly make the subject 
plain ; and shew that coming to the knowledge 
and enjoyment of the truth is u entering into life." 
Now this is precisely what is meant by entering 
into " the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God, 
or the kingdom of heaven, both signifying the same 
thing, are put for the spiritual kingdom of Christ, 
which he came to set up among men. 1 John the 
Baptist commenced his ministry by saying, " Re- 
pent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'' 7 Matt, 
iii. 2. When Jesus began to preach, he announced 
the approach of his moral kingdom in the same 
manner. , "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is 
at handy Matt. iv. 17. In the instruction, which 
Jesus gave his apostles, when he sent them out, 
he says, " as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom 
of heaven is at hand" Matt. x. 7. His kingdom 
was not afar off, it was at hand; it was not in 
another state of existence, it was here on the 
earth ; it was the moral reign of Christ among men. 
Jesus said to the Pharisees, "the kingdom of God is 
come unto you." Matt. xii. 28. On another oc- 
casion he said, u The kingdom of God cometh not 
with observation, neither shall they say, lo here ! 
or lo there ! for behold the kingdom of God is within 
j/oie," or among you. Luke xvii. 19, 20. To enter 
into the kingdom of God, was to embrace, profess 
and obey the gospel. Whosoever did this was un- 

1 See Dr. Campbell's Version of all the passages where these 
phrases occur, and his Preliminary Dissertation on the same subject. 
See also Adam Clarke on Matt. iii. 2. 



14 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

der the government of Christ ; he was in the reign 
of Christ ; he was in the kingdo7n of Christ. And 
as all the real disciples of the Redeemer were sav- 
ed from those tribulations which fell on the unbe- 
lievers of that age, Jesus warned his followers that 
no consideration whatever should induce them to 
decline entering into the kingdom of God. These 
views will be more fully confirmed as we proceed. 
3. Let us seek for the true sense of the word 
"hell," and of the phrase "hell fire." The Greek 
word here rendered "hell," is Gehenna, 1 This 
word, as every person of common biblical science 
knows, signified the valley of Hinnom, near Jeru- 
salem. It is a compound of two Hebrew words, 
ge, the land or the valley, and Hinnom, the name of 
the owner. It was there the cruel sacrifices of 
animals, and sometimes children, were made to 
Moloch, the Ammonitish idol. This place is some- 
times called Tophetj as some think from Toph, a 
word which signifies a drum, because drums were 
beat to drown the cries of the suffering children ; 
or according to others, from a particular fire stove 
in the place. In the reign of the good king Josiah, 
the idolatrous worship into which the Jews had 
been led, was broken up, and Gehenna was defiled, 
and made the receptacle of the filth of Jerusalem. 
A continual fire was kept burning, to destroy car- 

l There are four words rendered hell in the Bible, viz. Sheol. 
Hades, Tartarus, and Gehenna. Sheol is a Hebrew word, and oj 
course is always found in the Old Testament. It occurs in sixty 
four instances, in thirty-two of which it is rendered hell, and in 
the other thirty-two, pit and grave. Hades is a Greek translation 
of Sheol, and always has the same meaning. It occurs eleven times, 
ten of which it is rendered hell, and once (1 Cor. xv. 55,) grave, 
Tartarus does not really occur at all, but a denominative verb de- 
rived from it, which is rendered "cast down to hell." It is found 
once only, in 2 Peter, ii. 4. Gehenna occurs twelve times, and is 
uniformly rendered hell. In the common English version, the word 
hell occurs, in both Old and New Testaments, fifty-five times. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 15 

casses thrown in ; and, in a word, Gehenna be- 
came as abominable under the reign of Josiah, as 
it had been sacred during the idolatrous worship 
of the Jews. In process of time, as all writers 
agree, Gehenna came to be a place of punishment 
where criminals were caused to suffer death by- 
burning ; and in this sense the Saviour uses the 
word when he says, "but whosoever shall say 
thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire," i. e. the 
fire of Gehenna. 1 With such abhorrence and 
dread, under all these circumstances, did the Jews 
regard this place, that they used it as a figure of 
dreadful woes and judgments ; and so we find it 
used both in the Old and New Testament. Thus 
in Jer. xix. the destruction of Israel is foretold ; 
and in summing up what he had said the prophet 
adds, ver. 12, "thus will I do unto this place saith 
the Lord, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even 
make this city as Tophet." Here Gehenna is certain- 
ly used as a figure to represent Jerusalem under its 
tribulations. We recommend the reader to peruse 
the whole of Jer. xix. See* also Jer. vii. 31 — 34. 
Jesus used the word in the same sense. Of this 
we think there cannot be the shadow of a doubt. 
He said to the Pharisees, " ye serpents, ye gene- 
ration of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation 
of Gehenna?" Matt, xxiii. 33. He immediately 
adds, "Verily I say unto you, all these things shall 
come upon this generation," Ver. 36, Whatever Je- 
sus here meant by the "damnation of Gehenna," he 
certainly confined to that generation ; and can 
there be a question in the mind of any judicious 

1 On this passage, the learned Parkhurst, a strict believer in end- 
less misery observes, " Gehenna of fire does, I apprehend, in its 
outward and primary sense, relate to that dreadful doom of being 
burnt alive in the valley of Hinnom." 



16 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

person, that he referred to the judgment impending 
over Jerusalem ? He refers to these judgments 
again in Matt. xxiv. 21. " For then shall be great 
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of 
the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." But 
here he is particular to say, " This generation shall 
not pass till all these things be fulfilled." Ver. 34. 
From these quotations from the Scriptures the sub- 
ject must, we think, be regarded as settled, that 
Gehenna was used by the prophets, and by Jesus 
Christ, as an emblem of the calamities which be- 
fel the Jews in the destruction of the city, and 
overthrow of the nation. 1 Under this view of the 

1 On the word Gehenna are staked the last hopes of those who 
defend the doctrine of punishment in the future state. Their zeal 
in contending that this word was used by Christ to favor that doc- 
trine, is certainly proportioned to the desperateness of their cause. 
But can there possibly be any dispute, that Jesus meant by the " dam- 
nation of Gehenna," in Matt, xxiii. 33, the judgment with which God 
was then about to visit the Jews ? "Verily I say unto you," said 
he, " all these things (this "damnation of Gehenna" being the most 
important ^he had mentioned) shall come upon this generation." 
Ver. 36. And to what did Jesus refer, Matt. v. 22, by the "fire of 
Gehenna," except to the fire of the valley of Hinnom, in the literal 
sense? The learned Parkhurst, an eminent orthodox critic, as we 
have already quoted, takes this view of the subject. Lex. sub. voc. 
Gehen. Adam Clarke, another believer in endless misery, took the 
same view. Com. on New Test, in loco. We cannot perceive why 
the "judgment" and the "council," mentioned in this passage, may 
not be applied to the future state with as much propriety as the 
" Gehenna of fire." 

Now in reference to the ten other passages in which Gehenna oc- 
curs, they should be explained by the help of these. In the Old 
Testament the valley of Hinnom is made a figure of the temporal 
punishment of the Jews. This is unquestionable. When Jesus spoke 
of Gehenna to his disciples, would they not understand him as using 
it in the same sense? When he threatened the unbelieving Jews 
with the " damnation of Gehenna," would not they understand him 
to use the word in the sense in which their own prophets had used 
it? Jesus never intimated, nor is there a single intimation thrown 
out by any New Testament writer, that this word is to have a widely 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 17 

subject, the "hell fire" spoken of in the parable, 
forms a perfect contrast to the "Kingdom of God"—- 
the one was the happy portion of the believer in 
Jesus ; the other was the sad lot of those who 
were regardless of his teachings and admonitions. 

different signification in the New Testament from what it bore in the 
Old. To us it seems highly probable, that when Jesus threatened 
the Jews with the iS damnation of Gehenna," he had in his mind the 
declaration of Jeremiah that God would make Jerusalem likeTophet. 
To this it may be replied, that notwithstanding Gehenna never 
bears the sense of futvre 'punishment in the Old Testament, yet 
in the time of Christ it did have that signification, as used in com- 
mon language among the Jews, and by their theological writers ; and 
therefore, it is asked, would not the Jews have so understood Christ 
in his use of the word ? We answer no, even if this had been the 
case ; for did he not say concerning the ''damnation of Gehenna, 55 
" all these things shall come on this generation ? 55 Whatever, there- 
fore, their views of Gehenna were, they could not have misunder- 
stood him in his view of it. But it is far from being a settled ques- 
tion, that the Jews in the time of Christ did understand by Gehenna 
a place of punishment in the invisible world. That the Pharisees be- 
lieved in punishments after death we do not deny ; but Jesus explic- 
itly admonished his disciples to " take heed and beware of the leaven 
(i. e. doctrine) of the Pharisees and Sadducees.' 5 Compare Matt. 
xvi, 6 with 12. If Jesus regarded the doctrine of future punishment, 
in which the Pharisees believed, as of any importance, why did he 
not make an exception of that sentiment when he gave the above 
admonition ? But that the Jews in the time of Christ used the word 
Gehenna to apply to future punishment, has never been proved. 
That word, as Mr. Balfour has shown, (Inquiry, 2nd Ed. pp. 239, 
240) does not occur in the Apocrypha. The Targums have not 
been sufficiently examined by any author who doubted the common 
opinion. " Before we ought to be satisfied with regard to their 
bearing on this subject, 55 says a careful writer, "it appears to me 
that the following points should be clearly ascertained : 1st. Whether 
the oldest of them, those of Jonathan Ben Uzziel and Onkelos, do 
in fact use the word Gehenna to denote a place of future torment : 
for all the others are of too late a date to be used as evidence. 2, 
Whether it is probable that even those Targums are as old as our 
Saviour's time ; for I understand that this is a disputed question 
among critics; and that the celebrated- Bauer and Jahn bring them 
down to the second or third century. 55 

On the whole,- there is no evidence yet ascertained that the Jews 
ever used Gehenna in reference to future punishment, as early c« 
the time of Christ. 2 



18 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

4. Consider the words, " where their worm dieth 
not, and the fire is not quenched," vers. 44, 46, 48. 
There would be no necessity of giving* these words 
a separate consideration, they are so evidently to 
be explained in a figurative sense, as we explain 
Gehenna itself, were it not that much use has been 
made of them by many people in proving the doc- 
trine of endless misery, because it is said the worm 
shall not die, and the fire shall not be quenched. Let 
it be remarked then, that these are the same ex- 
pressions which the prophets had applied to the 
temporal calamities of the Jews. Thus Isaiah 
says, u And it shall come to pass, that from one 
new-moon to another, and from one sabbath to 
another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, 
saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look 
upon the carcasses of the men that have trangress- 
ed against me : for their worm shall not die, neith- 
er shall their fire be quenched ; and they shall be 
an abhorring unto all flesh." Ixvi. 23, 24. It will 
not be pretended that this passage refers to any 
troubles which are to befal the Jews in another 
state of existence, since it was to happen where 
time was measured by new-moons and sabbaths. The 
prophet Ezekiel describes the destruction of Israel 
in similar language. " Moreover, the word of the 
Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy 
face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the 
south, and prophesy against the forest of the south 
field ; And say to the forest of the south, Hear the 
word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, 
I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour 
every green tree in thee, and every dry tree ; the 
flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces 
from the south to the north shall be burned therein. 
And all flesh shall see that I the Lord have kindled 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 19 

it: it shall not be quenched." xx. 45 — 48. Now 
no one will pretend that this language has reference 
to any other than temporal judgments ; and yet, to 
say the least, it is as expressly asserted that the 
fire shall not be quenched, as in the parable before 
us. More passages might be quoted in illustration 
of this point, if necessary; but the above are a 
sample of the rest, and will suffice. To be u cast 
into hell fire," was to be made to suffer the damna- 
tion of Gehenna, which Jesus assured the Pharisees 
should come on that generation. The fire was 
called unquenchable because it was not quenched ; 
it consumed all the chaff ; it effected the complete 
destruction of the nations cast into it. This we 
are confident is the true application of the bold 
figure. 

5. Illustrate the proposition, that it was better to 
part with the offending member, than to be cast into 
" hell fire." After the foregoing remarks on this 
parable, it cannot be necessary that much be said 
under this head. The " damnation of Gehenna," 
which Jesus mentioned, Matt, xxiii. 33, he de- 
scribes to be a "great tribulation, such as was not 
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, 
nor ever shall be." Matt. xxiv. 21. Was it not 
better to part with friends, and all improper grati- 
fications, and all apparent temporal advantages for 
the kingdom of Christ, than by losing that king- 
dom to suffer the judgment of Gehenna? Jesus 
said, " whosoever will save his life shall lose i( .." 
Whosoever, to obtain temporal good, shall hesitate 
to become my disciple, shall lose the very object at 
which he aims : while " whosoever will lose his 
life for my sake shall find it." He who shall ex- 
pose himself to temporal loss for my kingdom, shall, 
in reality, be a great gainer thereby. The apostles 



20 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

entered into life maimed. Peter said, to his mas- 
ter, u Lo, we- have left all, and followed thee." 
Jesus replied, u Verily I say unto you, there is no 
man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, 
or wife, or children for the kingdom of God's sake, 
who shall not receive manifold more in this present 
time ;" i, e. the period under the law ; " and in the 
world to come," the age to come, u life everlasting." 
This passage is a fair solution of the proposition 
under consideration. Those who cheerfully part- 
ed with all hindrances to entering the kingdom of 
the gospel, and entered that kingdom without them, 
enjoyed, in reality, more than others, before the 
proud neck of the persecuting Jews was broken ; 
but when the judgments fell on that nation, and 
they were u ground to powder," there cannot be a 
question that it was far better to be a member of 
the kingdom of God. The advice of Christ, then, 
in the parable, was perfectly reasonable It was 
better to enter into life maimed, than to be cast into 
hell fire. 



Parable of the Strait Crate. 

MATT. VII. 13, 14. 

" Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, andhroad 
is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be 
which go in thereat : Because, strait is the gate, and narrow 
is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." 

This parable has been frequently employed to 
prove the doctrine of endless misery. The strait 
and narrow way, it was thought, was the way of 
truth and righteousness. The broad road was the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 21 

road of error and sin. The former led to life, that 
is, to eternal glory in another state of existence ; 
the latter led to destruction, that is, to endless sin 
and misery in that state. As few found the strait 
gate, and many the broad road, so few will be saved 
compared with the number of the lobt. Dr. Watts 
paraphrases the passage, 

" Broad is the road that leads to death 
And thousands walk together there, 
While wisdom shows a narrow path, 
With here and there a traveller." 

Now that this is manifestly a wrong application 
of the parable, is evident from the circumstance 
that Jesus was not in the whole context speaking 
of the future state. u Enier ye in at the strait 
gate.' 3 Does this necessarily refer to the future 
state ? No. " For strait is the gate, and narrow is 
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be 
that find it." All these verbs are in the present tense^ 
" Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that lead- 
eth to destruction, and many there he which go in 
thereat." There is nothing here which necessari- 
ly applies the passage to the future state. Life and 
destruction may both be found in this world ; it is 
not necessary that we go into another after them. 

Wisdom is life. u Her ways are ways of pleas- 
antness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree 
of life to them that lay hold upon her ; and happy 
is every one that retaineth her." Prov. hi- 17, 18. 
Again it is said, Prov. viii. 35, " whoso findeth me 
fmdeth Zi/e." Again, see Prov. x. 17, which is a 
very appropriate illustration of the parable before 
us. " He is in the way of life that keepeth in- 
struction ; but he that refuseth reproof erreth." 
Those who kept the instructions of Christ were in 
the way of life ; they had entered the \ strait gate,' 



22 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

and were in the 'narrow way' ; but those who re- 
fused his reproof were in the way of death. Wis- 
dom was the life enjoyed on the one hand, and fol- 
ly was the death suffered on the other. In Prov. 
xii. 28, it is said, "in the way of righteousness is 
life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death." 
The apostle Paul saith, Rom. viii. 6, "To be car- 
nally minded is death ; but to be spiritually minded 
is life and peace" Here it is not said that life fol- 
lowed spiritual mindedness as a reward ; but the 
spiritual mindedness was life itself The beloved 
apostle John saith, speaking of Christ, " he that 
hath the Son hath life, John v. 12 ; and the evan- 
gelist, to the same purport remarks, " he that hear- 
eth my word and believeth on him that sent me, 
hath everlasting life." John v. 24. 

On the other hand, a state of folly and sin is rep- 
resented as a state of death. "If a man keep my 
saying," saith Christ, " he shall never see death." 
John viii. 51. This cannot; of course, mean natur- 
al death. See Rom. viii. 6, "To be carnally mind- 
ed is death." Death is not put here as a punish- 
ment which succeeds carnal mindedness — the apos- 
tle asserts that that very carnal mindedness is 
death. " To be carnally minded is death." A state 
of hatred is represented as a state of death. " He 
that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1 John 
hi. 14. And hence the same apostle saith, "we 
know that we have passed from death unto life, be- 
cause we love the brethren." How true is it then, 
that "righteousness delivereth from death." Prov. 
x. 2. 

These scriptures develope the great principles 
on which the figure in the parable before us is 
founded. Sin and error are every where in the 
scriptures represented as a state of death ; while, 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 23 

on the other hand, righteousness and truth are call- 
ed life and peace. Thus in the parable, he who 
enters the c wide gate' is sure to find destruction, 
and he who enters the ' strait gate,' is sure to find 
life. 

Adam Clarke seems to have given the meaning 
of Jesus, in his Commentary. The verse which 
immediately precedes the parable is this — "all 
things whatsoever ye would that men should do to 
you, do ye even so to them : for this is the law and 
the prophets." Clarke observes, " enter in through 
this s'rait gate, i. e. of doing to every one as you would 
he bhoud do unto you; for this alone seems to be the 
strait fate which our Lord alluded to." He who 
obeys tiat command, must be possessed of the spirit 
of wisdun and love, and having entered the \ strait 
gate,' le enjoys life. u In the way of righteous- 
ness is lfe," and he finds it. He who does not 
obey th;t command, has the spirit of death within 
him : heis carnally minded ; he hateth his brother, 
and abileth in death. None of these passages 
howeveirefer to the final state of men in the world 
to come,on which the conduct of men in this life 
can have no influence. 

"Bysgate," says Bishop Pearce, "the Jews 
undersand that which leads or lets men into the 
sense nd knowledge of any doctrine. Hence 
Maimoides's treatise concerning the law of Moses, 
is calle*by a word signifying the gate of Moses." 
For th] reason perhaps Jesus represented the 
preceptive have referred to by a < gate' ; it contain- 
ed the snse of all his precepts, and so to speak, 
let men i to the very spirit of his gospel. As men 
judge itlifficult to comply with this injunction, so 
Christ ells it a " strait gate ;" and as but few in 



24 NOTES ON THE PARABLES 

that age complied with the injunction, the opposite 
gate was said to be wide, and the way broad. 

Israel walked in the broad road, and was de- 
stroyed ; but she found help in the Lord after her 
destruction. And so will all sinners. " Israel, 
thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help." 
Hosea xiii. 9. u He sent his word and healed tJiern, 
and delivered them from their destruction." Psalms 
svii. 20. 



Parable of the O-ood and Corrupt Tree. 

MATT. VII. 17—19. LUKE VI. 43, 44. 

" Even so every good tree bringeth forth good frtit : but a 
corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree catnot bring 
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring ^orth good 
fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good frut is hewn 
down, and cast into the fire." — Matt. vii. 17 — 1:9. 

This parable bears a strong resemblanc to that 
which occurs in Matt. hi. 10, the notes a which 
the reader will do well to peruse again In the 
case before us Jesus was warning his bllowers 
against those false prophets, who came to tie peo- 
ple in sheep's clothing, but within they wee rav- 
ening wolves. See verse 15. The name o proph- 
ets is given in the scriptures, not only to thse who 
were appointed to foretel future events, bu also to 
those who were -employed in delivering 3ligious 
instruction of any kind, especially if theylirected 
their labors to explain the precepts and octrines 
of divine revelation. Jesus foretold, that he false 
prophets would come in sheep's clothingthat jja, 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 25 

they would come in the garb of innocence. Paul 
seems to refer to such, in Rom. xvi. IS. " For they 
that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but 
their own belly ; and by good words and fair speeches 
deceive the hearts of the simple." That they 
might not trust in these false pretences, Jesus kind- 
ly pointed out to them the proper criterion by 
which they ought to judge of the professions of 
mankind. a Ye shall know them by their fruits." 
Ver. 16. That is, as truly as you may know the 
kind of a tree by the fruit which it bears, so may 
you know the real character of these prophets by 
their works. u Do men gather grapes of thorns ? or 
figs of thistles ?" Certainly not. " Even so every 
good tree bringeth forth good fruit." If these 
prophets are true teachers and good men, they will 
teach true doctrines and do good works. " But a 
corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." Ver. 17. 
On the other hand, if these prophets are false 
teachers, and bad men, they will teach false doc- 
trines, and do evil works. It is impossible that it 
should be otherwise, for " a good tree cannot bring 
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring 
forth good fruit." Ver. 18. See also Luke vi. 45. 
A terrible judgment awaits these false prophets, as 
well as all the unbelieving part of the Jewish na- 
tion. " Every tree that bringeth not forth good 
fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire." Ver. 19. 
The punishments which the house of Israel suffer- 
ed, are represented under the figure of fire, in in- 
stances too numerous to be refered to in this place. 



26 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder. 

MATT. VII. 24—27 LUKE VI. 47—49. 

" Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and 
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his 
house upon a rock : And the rain descended, and the floods 
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell 
not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that 
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be liken- 
ed unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand : 
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and beat upon that house ; and it fell : and great was the 
fall of it."— Matt. vii. 24—27. 

Kenrick very judiciously remarks concerning 
this passage, that " the state of things in Judea, as 
described by travellers into that country, will illus- 
trate the meaning of the comparison which our 
Lord here uses. The land of Canaan is described 
as a hilly, and extremely rocky country ; but the 
rocks are frequently covered with a thin coat of 
earth or sand. The returns of rain in the winter 
season are not very frequent ; but when it does 
rain, the water pours down with great violence, 
three or four days and nights together ; so as to 
produce violent torrents in every part of the coun- 
try. These violent rains in a hilly country must 
occasion inundations, endangering buildings which 
happen to be placed within their reach, by wash- 
ing away the soil from under them, and occasion- 
ing their fall. -To events of this nature, which 
must frequently take place in a populous country, 
where houses were placed in every situation, our 
Lord here refers. This account shows us how w^e 
are to understand building on the sand, or loose 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 27 

soil, and the wise man's digging down to the rock, 
before he laid the foundation of his building." 1 The 
houses in the east being formed frequently of mud, 
were but ill calculated to resist the effects of the 
impetuous torrent which descended from the moun- 
tains of Palestine. It should be remembered also, 
that tornadoes or whirlwinds, followed by lightning, 
thunder and rains, were very frequent during the 
winter and cold seasons. Eastern travellers de- 
scribe the whirlwinds they have observed, as truly 
terrific. They carry in their vortex, sand, branch- 
es, the stubble of the fields, and not unfrequently 
buildings which have not been well secured at the 
foundation. 2 

Jesus represented the man who heard his say- 
ings, and did them, by him who built his house 
upon a rock, which the winds and floods could not 
carry away. He was wise; his morality was found- 
ed on just principles, and it had the firmest and 
the best support. In the Sermon on the Mount, 
Jesus had placed the foundation of all moral recti- 
tude in the character of God. See Matt. v. 43 — 
48 and vii. 11. Here the universal love of God to 
the human race is appealed to by Jesus, as the rea- 
son why men should love their enemies, bless those 
who curse them, and pray for such as despitefully 
use them and persecute them. That men should 
love such as loved them Jesus showed was not 
enough ; he directed them to be perfect as their 
Father in heaven was perfect, viz. in loving their 
enemies. Thus he made the foundation of human 
rectitude to lie in the divine character. Now those 
who obeyed Christ's commands were like a man 
who built his house on a rock ; they had a solid 

1 Kenrick's Expos, in loco. 

2 See Home's Introduction, iii. 31, 65, 378. 



28 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

foundation for their morality, they had a good rea- 
son for what they did ; and in every period of hu- 
man life this conduct would stand justified. Not 
so with the man who heard the sayings of Christ 
and did them not. Merely to hear these sayings, 
or to profess to believe them, would not suffice in 
the day of danger. Jesus instructed his followers, 
that their conduct must be right, and he had given 
them a rule by which they might always know 
when it was right. "Not every one," said he, 
" that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into 
the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of 
my Father which is in heaven." Ver. 21. In the 
"day" of vengeance which came upon the Jews, 
many said u Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied 
in thy name ? and in thy name have cast out dev- 
ils ? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" 
He represents himself as replying, " I never knew 
you ; depart from me : ye that work iniquity." 
Vers. 22, 23, They were carried away by the tor- 
rent of divine judgments which were sent on that 
nation. They were loud in their professions of 
love to Christ, but they did not obey his injunc- 
tions. Of course their foundation was insecure, 
and the floods swept them away. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES: 29 

Parable of the Bruised Reed. 

MATT. XII.. 20. 

c' A bruised reed shall he not breaks and smoking flax shall he 
not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory" 

We shall easily obtain the true application of 
this metaphor, if we take the context into con- 
sideration. Commencing at the 14th verse, we 
read as follows : " Then the Pharisees went out, 
and held council against him, how they might de- 
stroy hirn. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew 
himself from thence ; and great multitudes follow- 
ed him, and he healed them all ; and charged them 
that they should not make it known ; that it might be 
fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, 
saying, Behold, my servant, whom I have chosen ; 
m}*- beloved in whom my soul is well pleased : I 
will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew 
judgment to the Gentiles* He shall not strive, nor 
cry ; neither shall any man hear his voice in the 
streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and 
smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth 
judgment unto victory. ?? In the true spirit of hur 
mility, Jesus charged those who were the happy 
subjects of his miraculous works, that they should 
not blazon abroad the wonders he performed : he 
preferred to do his good deeds in retirement, to 
pour out blessings unostentatiously upon mankind, 
and enjoy as his reward, not the praise of men, but 
the approbation of his conscience, and of him 
"who seeth in secret." With what satisfaction 
must every christian reflect on this trait in the 
character of his Master, when contrasted with the 



30 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

pride and ostentation of the Pharisees. Although 
Jesus frequently rebuked them in strong language, 
it is easily perceived that the rebuke of his exam- 
ple was still more severe. 

In order to show the impropriety of calling pub- 
lic attention, in that age, to himself, any farther 
than it was absolutely unavoidable, the blessed Je- 
sus referred to a portion of the prophecy of Isaiah, 
in which the prophet had made reference to him. 
iQ He shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall any man hear 
his voice in the streets." He was to pass unostenta- 
tiously through the world ; and as he never boast- 
ed of his benevolent deeds, so he charged his dis- 
ciples to u tell no man ;" but to leave the works to 
give testimony of themselves. " If I do not the 
works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, 
though you believe not me, believe the works ; that 
ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in 
me, and I in him." John x. 37, 38. 

In the same spirit Jesus declared his intention to 
seek the most obscure, broken down, and perishing 
individuals ; not to add sorrow to their sorrow, but 
to restore them, U A bruised reed shall he not break, 
and smoking flax shall he not quench." The reed 
that was bruised he would not destroy, but en- 
deavor to restore it ; and the flax so nearly extin- 
guished that it emitted nothing but smoke, he 
would not quench ; as the poet beautifully says, 

" He will not quench the smoking flax, 
But raise it to a flame, 
The bruised reed he never breaks, 
Nor scorns the meanest name." 

The phrase here rendered " smoking flax," Dr. 
Campbell translates, u a dimly burning taper." 1 Adam 
Clarke says it means the wick of a lamp in an ex- 

1 Four Gospels 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 31 

piring state, when the oil has been all burnt away 
from it, and nothing is left but a mere snuff emit- 
ting smoke. 1 " This expression," saith Bishop 
Pearce, "means that he shall be so gentle, as not 
to hurt even that which is of itself ready to perish. 
The Jews used flax as we now do cotton, for can- 
dles or in lamps. This, a little before it is quite ex- 
tinguished, gives more smoke than flame, and there- 
fore this sense seems a proper one." 2 To the same 
purport is KnatchbulPs annotation, who closes by 
saying, "that to speak to the capacity of the vul- 
gar, it ought to be translated thus : he will not extin- 
guish, or put out, the dying lamp. "Wilt thou break 
a leaf driven to and fro ? and wilt thou pursue the 
dry stubble ?" Job xiii. 25. Whitby's comment is 
equally interesting. " Here saith St. Jerome, Qui 
pecatori non porrigit manum, et qui non ported onus fratris 
sui, he that stretcheth not forth his hand to the sin- 
ner, and he that beareth not the burthen of his 
brother, he breaks the bruised reed ; et qui modicam 
scintillam fidei contemnit in paroulis, and he that con- 
temneth the small spark of faith in little ones, 
quenches the smoking flax." 3 The first of these 
expressions, "a bruised reed shall he not break," 
is a figurative way of speaking, denoting that the 
gentleness of Christ was so great that he would 
not hurt even that which of itself was ready to per- 
ish. The second, " And smoking flax shall he not 
quench," was intended to signify the same thing in 
different words, agreeably to the genius of Hebrew 
poetry. 

The whole life of Jesus Christ may be appealed 
to, as an evidence that the prophecy in regard to 
him was just. To mourners he was always con- 

1 Com. on the place. 2 Com. on the place. 3 Com. on the place. 



32 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

soling ; to the oppressed he gave deliverance ; to 
those afflicted with grievous diseases, so that they 
were just ready to perish, he gave health : and the 
wicked, the poor abandoned sinner, he did not de- 
spise* my blessed Lord ! how amiable is thy 
character in my sight- When the malicious Phari- 
sees brought to thee the woman taken in a violation 
of the law of Moses, thou didst not upbraid ; thou 
didst kindly say, u neither do I condemn thee, go 
and sin no more." When the woman who was a 
sinner, intruded herself upon thee, with a trem- 
bling step, in the house of Simon; when, having 
heard the common report of thy tenderness to the 
unfortunate, she came bursting with grief and 
penitence, and washed thy feet with her tears, 
thou didst not spurn her from thy presence, but in 
mercy saidst — " thy sins are forgiven thee." May 
we have more of thy disposition, and learn what 
it is to be " kind to the unthankful and to the evil." 

We find the principal prophecies in regard to 
Christ, in harmony with what we have now said. 
" He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up 
their wounds.' Psalms cxlvii. 3. When on earth, 
Jesus quoted and applied the following prophecy of 
Isaiah to himself: cc The spirit of the Lord is upon 
me, because he hath anointed me to preach the 
gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal, the broken 
hearted, to preadi deliverance to the captives, and 
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty 
them "that are bruised" Isaiah lxi. 1, and Luke iv. 
18. This passage is a perfect commentary on the 
parable under consideration. 

u Till he send forth judgment unto victory." By 
judgment here is to be understood the statutes and 
institutions of the gospel, as in verse 18. The 
sense of the clause seems to-be, that. Christ would 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. S3 

observe the conduct above described, until he had 
faithfully and immoveably established his gospel 
among men : or, as Isaiah hath it, xlii, 4, " till he 
have set judgment in the earth." 



Parable of the Unclean Spirit. 

MATT. XII. 43—45. 

et When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh 
through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he 
saith, I will return unto my house from whence I came out ; 
and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnish- 
ed. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits 
more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there : 
and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so 
shall it be also unto thisw icked generation." 

In this parable the Saviour referred to the opin- 
ion entertained by the Jews, and which they had 
derived from their association with the heathen 
nations, that persons were sometimes possessed by 
demons, or evil spirits ; that is to say, that these 
spirits influenced them so far as to control their ac- 
tions, and make them subject to extreme pains. 
There is the clearest evidence that the heathen at- 
tributed disorders, especially such as affected the 
mind, to the influence of evil spirits, who had in 
reality no existence or power, but were, like the 
rest of the heathen deities, imaginary beings. It 
ought to be distinctly understood, that the de- 
mons by which men are said, in the New Testa- 
ment, to be possessed, were a very different order 
of beings from the Devil, or Satan, commonly so 
called. It is never said by the sacred writers, that 
3 



34 ' NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

men were possessed by the devil: whether the doc- 
trine of real possessions be true or false, it is not 
the devil by whom men were possessed, but another 
order of beings called demons. Dr. Campbell has 
labored with great effect to illustrate this fact. 1 
Demons are always spoken of in reference to pos- 
sessions ; but the devil is never so spoken of. It de- 
volves on us, in this place, to show the reason why 
Jesus spoke of persons as being possessed by de- 
mons. 

From the earliest ages the heathen supposed in- 
visible spirits to have agency in the affairs of this 
world. They peopled the skies with the departed 
spirits of their heroes, to whom they assigned di- 
vers ranks, dispositions, and occupations ; some 
they adored with gratitude, and before others they 
trembled with fear. This was all the work of im- 
agination — it had no reality. They unquestionably 
believed it real ; and when they experienced any 
extraordinary emotions, they were wont to attri- 
bute them to the agency of their fabled demons. 
This absurd notion was embraced by the Jews, as 
we learn from their historians ; and Josephus, who 
lived nearly in the same age with the apostles, tells 
us, that demons are the spirits of wicked men, 
which return to the earth, and possess and torment 
the living. 2 This was the? prevailing opinion in the 
time of Christ. Persons afflicted with insanity 
and epilepsy were more particularly judged to be 
possessed of demons ; and the careful reader will 

i Prelim. Dis. vi. 1. 

2 Speaking of a certain plant, he says, fi it is only valuable on ac- 
count of one virtue it hath, that if it be only brought to tho sick per- 
gons, it quic.vly drives away those called demons, which are no other 
than the spirits of the wicked, that enter into men that are alive, and 
kill them, unless they can obtain some help against them.' , Bell 
Jud. lib. vii. c. vi. sec. 3. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 35 

perceive, by examining" the supposed eases of pos- 
sessions recorded in the New Testament, that the 
symptoms put forth by the subjects of them, are 
precisely the symptoms shown by persons reallv 
afflicted with those diseases. 1 The Saviour, in 
speaking of persons thus afflicted, used the com- 
mon language ; not, as we suppose, to give coun- 
tenance to the silly notion of the real existence of 
demons, but in tenderness perhaps to the persons 
afflicted, and in accommodation to their views of 
themselves, as well as to the prevailing opinion on 
the subject. It has been objected to this, that Je- 
sus would thereby have confirmed people in the 
false supposition, and deceived them by giving 
countenance to what was unreal. Those should 
reflect, who think the demoniacs were possessed 
by the devil, almost omnipotent, in whom they be- 
lieve, that this opinion is as wide from that which 
prevailed in the days of Christ, as the opinion we 
have expressed. The case is made no different, 
therefore, by adopting the present hypothesis in 
regard to possession by the devil. Although the 
Jews really believed the demoniacs were possess- 
ed, they did not believe they were possessed by — 
diabolos, — the devil, but by the spirits of the hu- 
man dead ; and so the demoniacs seem to have 
thought of themselves, as they sometimes took up 
their residence among the tombs. In the scrip- 
tures, the common language on the subject is kept 
up, and we are left to explain it by what we know 
of the religious opinions of the Jews and heathen. 
When Jesus cured people of insanity or epilepsy, 
he was said to cast out a demon, or demons, if the 
possessed thought himself to have more than one ; 
and when Jesus transferred the madness, on one 

1 On this subject, eee Jahn'e Biblical Archaeology. 



36 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

occasion, to a herd of swine, as the leprosy of 
Naaman was transferee! to Gehazi, the demons 
were said to enter them, and their end was what 
might have been expected. 

The parable under consideration is founded on 
the prevailing opinion of demons. The unclean 
spirit was said to leave a man, to walk through dry 
places, seeking rest and finding none. He con- 
cluded to return to the man whom he had left, and 
he found him in a better condition than when he 
left him ; or, as it is expressed, he returned to the 
house whence he came out, and found it empty, 
swept and garnished. He went and took with him 
seven spirits worse than himself, and they enter in 
and dwell there, and the last state of the man was 
of course, worse than the first. Jesus made the 
application of the parable by saying, "even so shall it 
be atso unto this wicked generation" 

It was commonly supposed, that i[ the insanity 
left a man for a time, but returned, it came w T ith 
seven fold violence, which is all that is meant by 
u seven other spirits." We say at the present day, 
when a fever is expelled, that if the person is not 
careful, the disease will return, and the relapse is 
seven times more difficult to cure than the first at- 
tack. The same rule holds good, in regard to moral 
things. Peter says, " for if, after they have escap- 
ed the pollutions of the world, through the knowl- 
edge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they 
are again entangled therein and overcome, the lat- 
ter end is worse with them than the beginning." 
The occasion of Jesus using the parable before us 
was this, — he had just cured a man of blindness and 
dumbness, or, in the common language, had cast 
out a demon that w^as both blind and dumb ; and 
this circumstance suggested to him the figure by 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 37 

which he represented what, it might reasonably be 
supposed, would be the last state of the Jews. 
They were earnestly looking for the coming of the 
latter days, in which they hoped to enjoy all the 
glory foretold by their prophets. This latter state of 
the nation was a matter of universal and joyful 
expectation among them ; but alas! by rejecting the 
true Messiah, and putting him to death, they 
brought upon themselves in the end of the age, a 
great tribulation, such as had not been from the 
beginning of the world to that time, and was never 
afterward to be exceeded. The "last state" of 
that generation, instead of being, as they expect- 
ed, better than any former condition they had 
ever enjoyed, would be worse — no calamities they 
ever suffered would compare with those about to 
fall upon them. 

This parable may be very easily and naturally 
applied to many persons now on the earth. In the 
process of what they call conversion, they get rid 
of one devil, but they often take in seven. We do 
not feel disposed to deny it is sometimes the case 
in proselyting men, that they are led to forsake 
some sins ; but it is a fact that they fall into others 
of a more enormous character ; as some writer has 
quaintly said, "they throw off the sins of a man, 
and take on those of a devil." There are people 
who have been made worse by being proselyted to 
orthodoxy, and although they have boasted of cast- 
ing the devil out, their last state is worse than the 
first. So it is with this wicked generation. 



38 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Parable of the Sower. 

MATT. XIII. 3—8. MARK IV. 3—8. iLUKE VIII. 5—8, 

" Behold a sower went forth to sow ; And, when he sowed, 
some seeds fell by the way-side, and the fowls came and de- 
voured them up : Some fell upon stony places, where they had 
not much earth ; and forthwith they sprung up, because they 
had not deepness of earth : And, when the sun was up, they 
were scorched; and, because they had no root, they withered 
away : And some fell among thorns ; and the thorns sprung 
up, and choked them: Bvt other fell into good ground, and 
brought forth fruit, some a hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some 
thirty-fold."— Matt. xiii. 3—8. 

At the commencement of the 13th chapter of 
Matthew, we read that u Jesus sat by the seaside;" 
and in consequence of the great multitudes that 
gathered to hear him, u he went into a ship and 
sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore." 
It was the custom of the Jewish instructors to 
stand up, as a mark of reverence, when they re- 
cited portions of the word of God, but they ex- 
pounded sitting. Jesus adopted the same practice. 
Compare Luke iv. 16 with 20. See also Matt. v. 1. 
xxiii. 2. Jesus drew the parable before us, as he 
did many others, from the pastoral occupations of 
the Jews. It may appear unnatural to some, that 
he should represent the seed which fell into good 
ground as bringing forth fr it even to a " hundred 
fold ;" but on the rich lands of Palestine, crops as 
large as this were sometimes obtained. See Gen. 
xxvi- 12. 

The great object of Jesus in uttering the parable 
of the Sower, was to shew the different ways in 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 39 

which the truth would be received by different 
orders of men. The explanation, as given by our 
Lord himself, will be found in vers. 18—23. The 
seed was sown in four different ways, and, in the 
explanation, Jesus showed that there were four 
different kinds of hearers of the word. 

1. There were those who heard the word, but 
did not understand it, Ver. 19. The word preached 
to them was the seed which fell by the way side, 
and which the fowls of the air came and devoured. 
Hence it is said, that when the word is preached 
to a man who did not understand it , then cometh the 
wicked, 1 and catcheth away that which was sown 
in his heart. It was not difficult for the wicked 
enemies of Jesus, to take away the word of the 
gospel, from the hearts of those who did not un- 
derstand it. Their great object was to prevent 
men from embracing the religion of the blessed Re- 
deemer. They took away the key of knowledge 
from the people,— they shut up the kingdom of 
heaven against men, neither entering themselves, 
nor suffering those who would enter to go in ; and 
they were represented by the fowls who came and 
devoured the seed. 

2. There were those who heard the word, and 
received it with joy ; but they were men of insta- 
bility, and endured only for a while ; for when 
tribulation or persecution arose on account of the 
word they had professed, they became offended 
and gave it up. This was a class of men to whom 
the word was preached, which, when preached to 
them, was represented by the seed which fell upon 
stony places, where there was but little earth. It 
sprang quickly up, as seed does when slightly cov- 
ered, and having but little root, it could not endure 

* The word one, heing supplied by the translators, I omiL 



40 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the scorching rays of the sun, and, of course, with- 
ered away. This certainly was a beautiful figure 
by which to represent those who, to use the apos- 
tle's expression, were not "rooted and grounded" 
in the faith. Eph. iii. 17 ; Col. ii. 7. 

3. There were those who heard the word, and 
who became unfruitful because the care of this 
world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choked it, and 
prevented its growth in their minds. When preach- 
ed to them, it was represented by the seed sown 
among thorns, which the thorns sprung up and 
choked. 

4. There were those who heard the word, and 
understood it, in whose hearts it bore fruit, to some 
in a greater, toothers in a less proportion. The 
word to them was like seed sown in good ground, 
which "brought forth fruit, some a hundred fold, 
some sixty fold, some thirty fold." 

In drawing moral instruction from this parable, 
it should be remarked, that we here perceive the 
way in which the truth is received by different class- 
es of men, and xhe reasons by which some men are 
induced to renounce and abandon the truth. All the 
seed that was sown, was represented as being good 
seed. That which was sown by the way side did 
not germinate, because it was caught away by the 
fowls ; that which fell in stony places sprang up, 
and withered only for want of soil ; that which fell 
among thorns, was good seed, and would have 
borne fruit, had it not been choked ; while that 
which fell into good ground was no better seed, 
but it bore fruit, even to an hundred fold, on 
account of the soil into which it was received. 
The word of truth met with all these different kinds 
of reception ; and it may be remarked, that the 
truth meets with the same reception now, as the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 4 J 

experience of every true preacher of the gospel 
will enable him to testify. 

In the first place, there are at the present day, 
the c way side' hearers — those who do not understand 
what they hear. No lasting impression can be made 
on such persons. If they profess to have received 
the truth, they never can defend it ; they cannot 
give a reason of the hope that is in them ; and 
they are continually liable to abandon the cause 
they may have espoused. The enemies of the 
truth will find them fit subjects for deceptiou, and 
they will artfully catch away from their hearts what 
little of truth they may have in remembrance, as 
the fowls caught away the seed from the way side. 

There are those again who hear the word, and 
receive it with great joy and zeal at first ; but they 
do not understand it ; the root of the matter is not in 
them ; and they endure only for a while. Opposi- 
tion causes them to tremble. Not having the love 
of truth in their hearts, they know not how to suf- 
fer any thing in its defence ; and " when tribula- 
tion or persecution ariseth because of the word," 
they are offended, and they abandon the cause 
which they at first embraced with so great joy. 
And here it should be remarked, that these people 
will never acknowledge the real reasons why they 
profess to renounce the truth ; they will not say 
that it is on account of the opposition with which 
they meet, and that they are offended because trib- 
ulation and persecution ariseth. No, they will say 
they have ascertained that what they professed to 
believe, is a dangerous error, ruinous to the souls 
of men, and they will profess to have renounced it 
on that account. But Jesus makes manifest the 
real reason, why such renounce the truth — they 
have not sufficient magnanimity and courage, and 



42 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

devotion to truth to endure tribulation and perse- 
cution. 

In the third place, there are those who hear the 
word, but in whom the love of the world predomi- 
nates. " The care of this world, and the deceitful- 
ness of riches choke the word, and he becometh un- 
fruitful." Are there not many such at the present 
time — men who cannot defend the truth, because 
it interferes with their worldly interest, and their 
money making 1 concerns ? Such may at first re- 
ceive the word, but their love of the world, and 
the power that riches have over them, choke it, 
and they abandon it. This is no disgrace to the 
truth itself, and never should weaken our confi- 
dence in it. Such men would be as likely to re- 
nounce the truth as any thing else, if it interfered 
with their mere worldly interests. Gain is the only 
god they worship, and any thing that deprives 
them of this they cannot endure. 

Lastly, we find those in this age of the world, 
who hear the word, and understand it. The word 
in them is the seed sown in good ground. They 
understand it well, they know the evidences on 
which it is founded, they can see the fallacy of the 
objections brought against it, and they cannot be 
persuaded to give up the word. The opposers of 
the truth cannot uproot it from their hearts ; they 
are willing to suffer shame, tribulation and perse- 
cution for the name of Christ ; and as they love 
the truth above every thing else, so no worldly 
consideration can induce them to abandon it. It 
bears fruit in their hearts, u some a hundred fold, 
some sixty, some thirty." And it is worthy of 
remark here, that the fruit which the word 
brings forth is always like itself. "Men do not 
gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles." A 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 43 

doctrine of love, will bear the fruit of love ; a doc- 
trine of joy will bear the fruit of joy ; a doctrine 
of peace, like Christianity, which is peace on earth, 
and good will to men, will bear the fruit of peace ; 
and hence Paul saith, u the fruit of the spirit is 
love, joy, peace," &c. Gal. v. 22. In Peter the 
word bore the fruit of joy, even an hundred fold, 
for he saith, that believing he 4 rejoiced with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory.' 1 Peter i. 8. Read- 
er, may it be your happy lot, to receive and under- 
stand the word of God ; may you be a faithful fol- 
lower of Jesus Christ, and may you enjoy those 
rich consolations of ' the gospel of the blessed God 3 
which the world can neither give nor take away. 



44 NOTES ON THE PARABLES 

Parable of the Tares of the Field. 

MATT. XIII. 24—30. 

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The king- 
dom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good' seed in 
his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed 
tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade 
was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the 
tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said 
unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field ? from 
whence then hath it tares 7 He said unto them, An enemy hath 
done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we 
go and gather them up ? But he said, Nay ; lest while ye gath- 
er up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both 
grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I 
will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and 
bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into 
my barn." 

The Saviour, as will be seen by a reference to 
vers. 37 — 43 of this chapter, has himself explained 
the parable now before us ; and it will, therefore, 
be highly proper that we make use of his explana- 
tion in coming to a right understanding of it. But 
as divines and commentators have differed widely 
in understanding the explanation as well as the para- 
ble itself, it will be our endeavor to elucidate the 
terms employed by a comparison of them with oth- 
er instances of their use, in other parts of the Bible. 

1. He that sowed the good seed was the Son of 
man. To whom did Jesus here refer ? 

2. The field is the world (kosrnos.) What world is 
meant ? 

3. The good seed are the children of the king- 
dom. Who are the c children of the kingdom ?' 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 45 

4. The tares are the children of the wicked one, 1 
Who are signified by the children of the wicked 
one ? 

5. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. 
What is here meant by the devil ? 

6. The harvest is the end of the world (aion.) 
Vers. 39, 40. What world is here meant ? 

7. The reapers are the angels. What angels 
are these ? 

8. Those signified by the tares were to be cast 
into a <- furnace of fire," ver. 42. What was this 
furnace of fire ? 

9. The righteous, after the destruction of the 
wicked, were to shine as the sun in the kingdom of 
their Father, Who were these righteous ? 

In regard to the first question there will be no 
dispute, that by the son of man Jesus intended 
himself. This was one of the common terms by 
which he made himself known. 

The field in which the tares and wheat were both 
planted, was the world. Here the word world is a 
translation of the Greek word kosmos, which usu- 
ally signifies the material universe : and world, 
therefore, is to be understood in its usual sense, in 
the instance before us. 

It next devolves on us to consider who are in- 
tended by the " children of the kingdom." It is a 
fact well known to every Biblical student, that the 
Hebrews made a peculiar use of the terms son and 
child, and adopted them to signify any kind, and 
almost every kind of relation whatsoever. 2 Hence 

1 The word one is here supplied by the translators, and may, of 
course, be ommitted, if we think the sense does not require it. 

2 The following passage from Prof. Stuart's Letters to the Rev. 
Dr. Miller, is the best illustration we can offer in support of what is 
here said. 

" The word son was a favorite one among the Hebrews and was 



46 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

'children of the kingdom' may signify either those 
to whom the kingdom was preached, or those who 
had actually embraced the gospel, and entered into 
it, In Matt. viii. 12, we read that " the children 
of the kingdom shall be cast into outer darkness." 
Here the unbelieving Jews are called the c children 
of the kingdom,' because the kingdom of Christ was. 
designed first for the Jews, and preached first to 
them ; and hence, when the woman of Canaan 
came to Jesus, he declared that he was not sent 

employed by them to designate a great variety of relations. The son 
of any thing, according to oriental idiom, may be either what is 
closely connected with, dependent on it, like it, the consequence of 
it, worthy of it, &c. But this view of the subject must be explained 
by actual examples from the Scriptnres. The following, I have se- 
lected from the Old and New Testaments. 

" 'The son of eight days,' i. e. the child that is eight days old ; 
6 the son of one hundred years,' i. e. the person who is one hundred 
years of age ; ' the son of a year,' i. e. a yearling ; ' the son of my 
sorrowing,' i. e. one who has caused me distress ; 'the son of my 
right hand, ! i. e. one who will assist, or be a help to me ; ' son of old 
age,' i. e. begotten in old age; 'son of valour,' i. e. bold, brave ; 
'son of Belial, [literally, son of good-for-nothing] i. e. a worthless 
man ; 'son of wickedness,' i. e. wicked ; 'son of a murderer,' i. e. 
a murderous person ; ' son of my vows,' i. e. son that answers to my 
vows ; l son of death,' i. e. one that deserves death ; ' son of perdi- 
tion,' i. e. one that deserves perdition ; ' son of smiting,' i. e. one 
that deserves stripes ; ' son of Gehenna,' i. e. one that deserves Ge- 
henna ; * son of consolation,' i. e. one fitted to administer consolation; 
* 6on of thunder,' i.e. a man of powerful energetic eloquence or 
strength ; 'son of peace,' i. e. a peaceable man ; son of the morn- 
ing,' i. e. the morning star ; ' son of the burning coal,' i. e. sparks of 
fire , * son of the bow,' i. e. an arrow, 'son of the threshing floor,' 
i. e. grain , ' son of oil,' i. e. fat ; ' son of the house,' i. e. a domestic 
slave ; ' son of man,' i. e. man as it is usually applied, but perhaps 
in a sense somewhat diverse in several respects as applied to our Sa- 
viour. Such is the wide extent of relation, similarity, connexion, &c. 
which the term ' son ' is employed to designate in the Hebrew, and 
in the idiom of the New Testament, "a latitude far greater than is 
given to it in occidental languages, and which no one who is not con- 
versant with the Hebrew, can scarcely estimate in an adeqnate 
manner. 



NOTES Ox\ THE PARABLES. 47 

but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and 
that it was not meet " to take the children' ] s bread 
and cast it to dogs.'' Matt, xv 24, 26. We know 
of but one other sense which we can affix to the 
phrase 'children of the kingdom' in the parable 
before us — it must signify thrse who had actually 
and heartily embraced the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
and who are said Matt. xxv. 34 c to inherit the king- 
dom prepared for them from the foundation of the 
world.' 

The tares represented the children of wicked- 
ness, which, as we have shown, simply signifies 
wicked persons, These were such as had been in- 
corporated into the church, and mixed with the 
sincere followers of Christ, and we find them re- 
ferred to under various figures, in several of his 
parables. At the time the son of man sent forth 
his angels, they were to gather owt of his kingdom 
all things which offend, and them which do iniqui- 
ty,' which plainly shews that Jesus intended such 
persons as had professed to know him, but were 
unfaithful disciples. 

Who did Jesus mean by the devil, that mixed the 
children of wickedness with his sincere and faith- 
ful followers ? The Greek word diabolos signified an 
adversary in general ; and was very often applied 
to human beings, instances of which are frequent- 
ly occurring in the New Testament. In the in- 
stance before us, we suppose it to refer to that per- 
verse and wicked spirit, so opposite to the true 
spirit of Christ, which led men to say Lord, Lord, 
while they performed not the will of God, and 
which induced them to profess to serve a master 
to whom they were not faithful. 

To what time did Jesus refer by " the harvest" 
which he said should take place at the end of the 



48 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

(axon) world? Ver.39,40. By the answer to this ques- 
tion, it is settled whether the event of this parable 
refer to the future existence of mankind, or wheth- 
er it had its proper fulfillment at the time of the de- 
struction of the Jewish state. The phrase rendered 
'end of the world' is sunteleia tou aionos, and signi- 
fies literally, the conclusion of the age. The same ex- 
pression occurs Heb. ix. 26, where we read that 
Jesus appeared, at the conclusion of the age, to put 
away sin by the sacrifice of himself. As Christ- 
ianity may be said to have begun when the Jewish 
religion ended, so Christ is said to have appeared 
at the end of the Jewish age. The apostle Paul 
stated, that the end of the age had happened in 
his day, " Upon whom the ends of the ages (tatele 
ton aionon) are come." 1 Cor. x. 11. The same 
subject is again spoken of Matt. xxiv. 3, where we 
are informed, that the disciples asked the Saviour, 
what should be the sign of his coming, and of the 
conclusion of the age, (sunieleias tou aionos.) He 
speaks of the end of that age, in verses 6, 13, 14 
of the same chapter, and after pointing them to 
such signs as would infallibly enable them to dis- 
cern its approach, he adds, ver. 33, c Verily I say 
unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these 
things be fulfilled.' On the strength of this testimo- 
ny, plain, clear and incontrovertible, we say that 
the c harvest' took place, at the conclusion of the 
Mosaic age ; and we add, that there is not an in- 
stance in the New Testament, in which the Greek 
phrase, rendered, c end ol the world' in the parable 
on which we are remarking, has any other signifi- 
cation. It never should be forgotten, that the 
4 end of the world,' vers. 39, 40, at which the har- 
vest was to take place, was not the end of kosmos y 
the world said to be the field, but the end of aion y 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES, 49 

the age, and unquestionably referred to the con- 
clusion of the Jewish state. But that we have as- 
signed ' the harvest' to the proper time, will be 
made more evident by the next particular to be 
noticed. 1 

i To shew that this interpretation of the parable is not peculiar to 
the denomination of Christians to which the author is well known to 
belong, the attention of the reader is invited to the following facts : 

Dr. Hammond, a most loyal member of the English church, who 
flourished nearly two centuries ago, translates the phrase sunteleia 
tou aionos, * conclusion of the age,' and he makes it refer primarily 
to the then solemn and approaching time of the visitation of the Jews. 
Paraphrase and Annotations in loco. 

Adam Clarke, who as every body knows was zealously devoted to 
the doctrines of the Methodist church, closes his remarks on the 
parable by saying, ct Some learned men are of opinion, that the 
whole of this parable refers to the Jewish state and people ; and that 
the words sunteleia ton aionos, which are commonly translated the 
end of the world, should be rendered the end of the age, viz. the 
end of the Jewish polity. That the words have this meaning in oth- 
er places, there can be no doubt ; and this may be their primary 
meaning here ;" but he adds that there are some particulars in the 
parable which agree better with the consummation of all things, but 
he does not tell us what those particulars are. Com. in loco. 

The great commentator Pearce, Bishop of Rochester, translates 
sunteleia tou aionos, "end of this age, viz. that of the Jewish 
dispensation." " This is spoken,', he adds, "not of what is to 
happen at the end of the world, but of what was to happen at the end 
or destruction of the Jewish state." In a note to ver, 41 he says, 
<c I have explained this and the foregoing verse, as relating not to 
the end of the world; but to thai of the Jewish state, which was to 
be destroyed within forty years after Jesus's death : for the same 
manner of expression is made use of, when it is more certain, that 
not the time of the general judgment, but that of the visitation of 
the Jews is meant, viz. in Matt. xvi. 27, 28 where it is said, the 
Son of man shall come in the gl&ry of his Father, with his an- 
gels, and then he shall reward every man according to his 
works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, 
which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man com- 
ing in his kingdom." This last verse, accomplished in one of the 
apostles at least (I mean John) plainly shews, that all the phrases 
used in the first verse were designed to express only the destruction 
that was to befal the Jewish state : at which time the Christians, 
who endured to the end, were to be saved, Matt. x. 22 and xxiv. 

4 



50 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

c The reapers are the angels.'' What did Jesus in- 
tend by the angels? Familiar traditions have con- 
fined the application of this word almost exclu- 
sively to superhuman beings ; but surely the at- 
tentive reader of the Bible need not be informed 
that the term angel is precisely synonimous with 
messenger, and that it is applied not only to mankind;, 
but even to inanimate objects. Jesus always rep- 
resented himself, when coming- to destroy the Jew- 
ish state, as being attended with angels. " For the 
Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, 
with his angels; * * *t verily I say unto you, there 
be some standing here which shall not taste of death 
till they see the S071 of man coming in his kingdom." 
Matt. xvi. 27, 28. Mark viii. 38 and ix. 1. Luke 
ix. 26, 27. Here the coming of Christ, with his 
angels, is confined to that generation. On another 
occasion Jesus said, " they shall see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and 
great glory : and he shall send his angels with a 
great sound of a trumpet,'' to which he immediately 
adds, " this generation shall not pass, till all these 
things be fulfilled." Matt. xxiv. 30, 31, 34. See 
also Matt. xxv. 31 and 2 Thess. i. 7. It is a cir- 
cumstance which confirms our application of the 
parable, that the Son of man sends forth his angels 
to destroy his enemies, for this language is inva- 
riably applied, in the New Testament, to the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, whenever that event is de- 
scribed. In the parable before us the angels, or 
messengers, were to be the agents of destruction 
to the enemies of Christ ; and by comparing this 

13. These are also called the elect in Matt. 22, 24. And Eccles- 
iastical history informs us, that by a divine admonition the faithful 
Christians, retired from Judea before the ruin of it by the Romans, 
and were preserved. See Matt. iii. 12. xxiv. 22. Luke xxi. 18, 36. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 51 

part with what is stated Matt. xxii. 7, we ascer- 
tain who the messengers of destruction were. 
" Bat when the king heard thereof, he was wroth ; 
and he sent forth his armies , and destroyed those mur- 
derers, and burned up their city." Here it is cer- 
tainly meant that the Roman armies were the mes- 
sengers which God sent to destroy his rebellious 
people, the Jews. 

We come now to consider another important 
question, viz. what did Jesus signify by the fur- 
nace of fire,'' into which the wicked were 1 cast by 
the angels of destruction, to whom God had given 
them up ? We know it has been the usual opinion, 
that this furnace of fire is a place of torment in the 
future world. But are there any who have yet to 
learn, that this figure was employed by the sacred 
writers to represent temporal destruction ? The 
bondage Israel suffered under Pharaoh was describ- 
ed as a furnace. u But the Lord hath taken you, 
and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even 
out of Egypt." Deut. iv. 20. See also 1 Kings 
viii. 51. Isaiah xlviii. 10. Jer. xi. 4. So the tre- 
mendous calamities, the c great tribulation' suffer- 
ed by the Jews at the destruction of their favorite 
city — compared with which the afflictions suffered 
in Egypt were less than nothing — are represented 
by a c furnace of fire ;' and the application of the 
figure to the city of Jerusalem is made so directly 
and indisputably, that the most obtuse sense must 
perceive it. " The Lord's fire is in Zion, and his 
furnace in Jerusalem." Isaiah xxxi. 9. A passage 
still more full, and more pointed, remains to be 
quoted. " And the word of the Lord came unto 
me, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is to 
me become dross : all they are brass, and tin, and 
iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace ; they are 



52 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the 
Lord God, because ye are all become dross, behold, 
therefore, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusa- 
lem ; as they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and 
lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow 
the fire upon it, to melt it, so will I gather you in 
mine anger, and in my fury, and I will leave you 
there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and 
blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye 
shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is 
melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be 
melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know 
that I the Lord have poured out my fury upon you" 
Ezk. xxii. 17 — 22. There cannot remain a linger- 
ing doubt that the c furnace of fire' was the city of 
Jerusalem, into which God gathered the Jewish 
nation, and there he melted them in the fire of his 
wrath, and destroyed them by the messengers of 
his judgments. The plainness of this subject can 
hardly be said to have a parallel ; and yet I dare 
not hope, that it will bring a blush on the faces of 
those who have for a long time obstinately persist- 
ed, that this furnace of fire is in the future world. 
After the destruction of the wicked, the righteous 
w,ere to shine as the sun in the kingdom of their 
Father — who were these? The answer is obvious — 
such as were in the kingdom — such as had set down 
with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, while others were 
cast out ; of whom it is said in the book of Daniel, 
that they "shall shine as the brightness of the fir- 
mament ; and they shall turn many to righteous- 
ness, as the stars forever and ever." xii. 3. Their 
persecutors the Jews being destroyed, and perse- 
cutions on every hand being abated and softened, 
they would experience comparative earthly felicity, 
and have an enlarged enjoyment of gospel peace 



NOTES ON THE PARABLlS. 53 

and life. Separated from hypocrites* the church 
would be purer — she would attract, by the white- 
ness of her robes, the gaze of heathen spectators, 
and constrain them to cry, 'behold, how these 
Christians love one another.' She would shine as 
the sun, the more brilliantly, because the clouds of 
oppression and affliction had just been dispelled. 
" Who hath ears to hear, let him hear," 



Parable of the Mustard Seed. 

MATT. XIII. 31, 32.— MARK IV. 31, 32.— LUKE XIII. 18, 19. 

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The king- 
dom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man 
took, and sowed in his field : Which indeed is the least of all 
seeds : but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and 
becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in 
the branches thereof."— Matt, xiii 31, 32. 

44 The Jews," saith Whitby, "give a wonderful 
account of the growth and increase of the mustard 
seed, viz. there was a stalk of mustard seed in 
Sichin, from which sprang out three boughs, of 
which one was broke off, and covered the tent of 
a potter, and produced three cabs of mustard ; R. 
Simeon B. Calipha said, a stalk of mustard seed 
was in my field, into which I was wont to climb, as 
men do into a fig tree. Buxtorf in voce Chardal." 
Commentary on Matt. xiii. 31. This great growth 
is attributed to the luxuriant soil of Judea, and to 
the warmth of the climate. 1 

1 The following passage is worthy of being introduced here : " In 
order that we may enter fully into the meaning of this parable of 
our Lord, it may not be irrelevant to observe, that in eastern cou'n- 



54 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

By the kingdom of heaven in this parable, Jesus 
intended his spiritual dispensation, or moral reign, 
which he eame to establish among men. It was 
like a grain of mustard seed, because at its com- 
mencement it may be said to have been exceeding- 
ly small. It contained, however, the principle of 
growth in itself, and was destined to flourish won- 
derfully, without the aid of human power. Like 
the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, 
which became a great mountain and filled the whole 
earth, so this would spread abroad its branches far 
and wide. The prophet Ezekiel uses a similar 
figure. u Thus saith the Lord God, I will also 
take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and 
will set it ; I will crop off from the top of his young 
twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon a high 
mountain and eminent : In the mountain of the 
height of Israel will I plant it : and it shall bring 
forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: 
and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing ; in 
the shadow of the branches thereof shall they 

tries, the mustard plant (or at least a species of the sinapi, which 
the orientals comprehended under that name) attains a greater size 
than with us. It appears that the orientals were accustomed to give 
the denomination of trees, to plants growing to the height of ten or 
twelve feet, and having branches m proportion. To such a height 
the mustard plant grows in Judea ; and its branches are so strong, 
and well covered with leaves, as to afford shelter to the feathered 
tribe. Such is the image by which Jesus Christ represents the pro- 
gress of his gospel. The kingdom of heaven, said he, is like to a 
grain of mustard seed — small and contemptible in its beginning ; 
which is indeed the least of all seeds, that is, of all those seeds with 
which the Jews were then acquainted : (for our Lord's words are to 
be interpreted by popular use ; and we learn from Matt. xvii. 20, 
that, like a grain of mustard seed, was a proverbial expression to 
denote a small quantity,) but when it is grown, it becometh a tree, 
so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. 
Under this simple and beautiful figure does Jesus Christ describe the 
admirable developement of his gospel from its origin to its final con- 
summation. " Home's Introduction ii. 616. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 55 

dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know- 
that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, 
have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green 
tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish : I the 
Lord have spoken and have done it." xvii. 22 — 24. 
It was common among the Jews to represent any- 
thing w 7 hich flourished greatly, under the figure of 
a tree. Nebuchadnezzar's vast kingdom was shown 
to him, in a vision, under the like figure ; and the 
Psalmist said of the righteous man, that " he should 
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water." i. 3. 
Jer. xvii. 8. The rest and peace which men would 
enjoy under the influence of the gospel, is shewn 
by the " birds of the air lodging in the branches ;" 
or, to use the more comprehensive expression of 
Ezekiel, " under it shall dwell all fowl of every 
wing, in the shadow of the branches thereof shall 
they dwell." 



Parable of the leaven. 

MATTHEW XIII. 33. LUKE XIII. 21. 

<( Another parable spake he unto them: The kingdom of heaven 
is like unto leaven, ivhich a woman took, and hid in three meas- 
ures of meal, till the whole was leavened." — Matt. xiii. 33. 

The object of this parable is precisely that of 
the one last noticed — to shew, as Kenriek observes, 
that although the religion of Christ was small and 
insignificant in the beginning, it would be diffused 
throughout the world. " The gospel hath such a 
secret invisible influence, on the hearts of men, to 
change and affect them, and all the actions that 
flow Jrom them, that it is fitly resembled to leaven, 



56 NOTES ON THE PARABLES 

so mixt thoroughly with the whole, that although 
it appeareth not in any part of it visibly, yet every 
part, hath a tincture from it.' 1 

We are enabled, by the help of this parable, to 
illustrate a truth, to which we have already refer- 
ed, viz. that it is the nature of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ to conform every thing to itself. As leaven 
operates on meal, and assimilates it to its own na- 
ture, so the gospel operates on the hearts of men, 
and transforms them into a moral likeness to it- 
self. It is for this reason, that it is important, 
above all things, to preach the truth, in its purity, 
to mankind. The doctrine of divine love will make 
men lovely — the doctrine of divine mercy will make 
them merciful — the doctrine of divine grace will 
make them gracious — the doctrine of divine benevo- 
lence will make them beneficent — the doctrine of 
divine kindness to sinners will make them kind to 
sinners — the doctrine of divine impartiality will 
make them impartial. Contrary doctrines must and 
will have contrary effects. The doctrine of ven- 
geance will make them revengeful — the doctrine of 
cruelty will make them cruel — the doctrine of ha- 
tred will fill them with its spirit, and the doctrine 
of partiality will make them partial. Wherever 
these doctrines have any effect, they have such an 
effect, as every one must know who has examined 
their influences upon the world. What doctrine 
have all the persecutors believed that ever lived 
in the world ? What doctrine has the holy catholic 
church believed — she who has been drunk with 
the blood of saints, and to whom the groans of 
burning martyrs have been the most delightful 
music ? The history of that church is a history 9f 
usurped power, of blood, and fire and oppression.. 

1 Harnmand, in Paraphrase and. Annotationsv. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 57 

Had her priests believed in the doctrine of divine 
love for all mankind, is it not reasonable to suppose 
that the influence of that doctrine on their hearts, 
like the operation of leaven on meal, would have 
softened and subdued their angry passions, and 
awakened the spirit of compassion and love ? The 
persecutions of Protestants, one against another, 
have been generated by the influence of the same 
unwholesome doctrines. When Servetus was burn- 
ed at Geneva, it was not the doctrine of " peace 
on earth, and good will to men," that actuated Cal- 
vin, and the rest of his murderers. When Christ- 
ianity pervades the whole earth, men will learn, 
like their master, to " have compassion on the ig- 
norant, and those who are out of the way" — they 
will " not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy moun- 
tain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge 
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." 

Another fact confirmed by the parable under con- 
sideration, is this, that all mankind shall at last know 
God, and feel the power of his truth. " The king- 
dom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman 
took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the 
whole was leavened." c The reason why three 
measures of meal are mentioned, is that this was 
the quantity of meal used at a time for making 
bread.' 1 The apostle says, " a little leaven leaven- 
eth the whole lump." 1 Cor. v. 6. Gal. v. 9. Did 
not Jesus, in the parable, mean to intimate, that 
the triumphs of his gospel shall be universal ? The 
same great and glorious truth is taught in several 
passages of scripture. " All the ends of the world 
shall remember, and turn unto the Lord, and all 
the kindreds of the nations shall worship before 
thee." Psalms xxii. 27. " All nations whom thou 

i Kenrick's Exposition. 



58 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

hast made shall come and worship before thee, 
Lord, and shall glorify thy name." Ixxxvi. 9. 
" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw 
all men unto me." John xii. 32. " In thee shall all 
nations be blessed." Gal. iii. 8. " That in the dis- 
pensation of the fulness of times, he might gather 
together in one all things in Christ, both which are 
in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him." 
Eph. i. 10. u At the name of Jesus every knee 
shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, 
and things under the earth, and that every tongue 
shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory 
of God the Father." Phil. ii. 10, 11. The pas- 
sages to this point are too numerous to be all quot- 
ed in this place. 



Parable of the Treasure. 

MATT. XIII. 44. 

i( Again, The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in 
a field ; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for 
joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that 
field." 

By the kingdom of heaven, in this passage, we 
are to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, which 
he had previously likened to ' a grain of mustard 
seed,' and to h leaven.' This kingdom was repre- 
sented by a treasure hidden in a field, which, when 
a man had found, he concealed, or did not make it 
known that he had found it, and for joy went and 
sold all he had, and bought that field. 

The object of this parable appears to have been, 
to set forth the great value of the gospel, and the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 59 

wisdom of parting with ail earthly treasures for the 
sake of obtaining it. The man who purchased the 
field, is represented as surrendering all he had to 
obtain it ; by which Jesus impressed on his disci- 
ples the important fact, that the love of glory, of 
riches and of pleasure, must be renounced, when 
brought in competition w r ith the religion he be- 
stowed upon the world. The character which our 
Lord here draws for the imitation of his followers, 
is put by way of opposition to that of the man 
mentioned in ver, 22, in whom 'the care of this 
world, and the deceitfulness of riches choked the 
word, and he became unfruitful.' 

When Jesus was on earth, the greatest personal 
sacrifices were necessary in those who would be 
faithful to him. Such was the opposition he had 
to meet, and such the bitterness of his enemies, 
that any man who should profess his name, might 
reasonably expect to be called on to give up all that 
the world would call dear. Of this he fairly gave 
mankind warning. He did not entice them to be- 
come his disciples through the hope of earthly 
gain, and aggrandizement, but forewarned them 
that they must forsake a//, and follow him. In do- 
ing this they would not really be losers — they 
would exchange the paltry toys of earth, for 
heavenly and substantial good. The gospel is the 
greatest of all riches. It is the riches of God's 
grace, Eph, i. 7, the ' exceeding riches of his grace,' 
ii, 7, 'the unsearchable riches of Christ,' iii. 8, and 
hence the reproach of Christ is said to be greater 
riches than all the treasures of Egypt. Heb. xi. 
26 In him, it is sdid, c are hid all the treasures of 
wisdom and knowledge.' Col. ii. 3. These were 
the treasures of the kingdom of heaven ; and vvhei. 
people obtained these, they were said to lay up 



60 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

< treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust 
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through 
and steal.' Matt. vi. 20. The propriety of parting 
with all things to obtain these treasures, Jesus pro- 
posed on a certain occasion to the young man, of 
whom we read in Matt. xix. 21. " Go and sell that 
thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt 
have treasure in heaven." Because it required a 
willingness in men to part with all earthly posses- 
sions for the kingdom of God's sake, it was hard 
for a rich man to enter that kingdom. Ver. 23. 
The apostles forsook all, and followed Christ ; and 
he assured them, that every one who had forsaken 
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or moth- 
er, or wife, or children, or lands, for his name's 
sake, should be abundantly the gainer thereby, — 
he should receive an hundred fold — he should en- 
joy that everlasting life, which the knowledge of 
the true God imparts to the mind. Compare Matt, 
xix. 29 with John xvii. 3. 



Parable of the Pearl of great Price. 

MATT. XIII. 45, 46. 

"Again, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman 
seeking goodly pearls : Who> when he had found one pearl of 
great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." 

The design of this parable is the same with that 
of the last, viz. to show that the gospel is the 
greatest of all treasures, and that it was wise in 
the followers of Christ to surrender all things to 
obtain it, as the merchant sold all that he had, and 
purchased the pearl of great price. In the use of 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 61 

this comparison, Jesus alludes to a well known 
maxim among the Jews, that true knowledge v/as 
better than silver, or gold, or precious stones. 
< Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the 
man that getteth understanding. For the mer- 
chandise of it is better than the merchandise of 
silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is 
more precious than rubies, and all the things thou 
canst desire, are not to be compared with her.' 
Prov. iii. 13—15. 

As the observations under the preceding parable, 
apply with equal force to this, we shall pass to the 
consideration of another subject, without any fur* 
ther remarks. 



Parable of the Net. 

MATT. XIII. 47—50. 

"Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was 
cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind : Which, when it 
was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the 
good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end 
of the world : the angels shall come forth, and sever the wick- 
ed from among the just: And shall cast them into the furnace 
of fire : there shall be ivailing and gnashing of teeth. ,i 

The subject intended to be illustrated in the 
parable before us, is the same which formed the 
basis of the parable of the tares of the field The 
net gathered of every kind, gcod and bad ; and the 
field contained both tares and wheat. The good 
were gathered into vessels, but the bad were cast 
away ; and in the harvest, the tares were rooted 
up from among the wheat. The application of the 



62 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

two parables is precisely the same. They were 
both to be fulfilled (en te sunteieia ton aionos) in the 
end of the age. Compare vers. 40 and 49. The 
angels, or messengers, were to separate betw r een 
the good and bad in both cases ; and in both it is 
said of the enemies of Christ, that they should be 
cast " into the furnace of fire ; there shall be wail- 
ing and gnashing of teeth." In the full explana- 
tion, therefore, which we have given of the para- 
ble of the tares, we may be said to have explained, 
at length that of the net. It cannot be necessary 
that we go over again with the arguments and 
illustrations we have already advanced ; the two 
parables are so plainly referable to the same sub- 
ject, that if the reader will peruse what we have 
said on the former, he will be fully able to under- 
stand the latter. 

It is w 7 orthy of remark, in this place, that our 
Lord was in the habit of drawing his images from 
present objects and circumstances. When he utter- 
ed the parable of the net, he was in a §hip 7 upon, 
the sea of Galilee, addressing a multitude who stood 
upon the shore ; and this lake abounded with 
fish, a circumstance that evinces the propriety of 
the parable being uttered on that occasion, and 
shews the events that called it up to the Saviour's 
mind. Several writers have treated on this trait 
in his discourses, but none perhaps with greater 
effect than Arch-Bishop Newcome, who has col- 
lected the various instances in which our Lord's 
instructions were suggested by accidental objects, 
and arose in an easy and natural manner from 
present or recent occasions and circumstances. He 
brings the section to a close in which he has re- 
corded various instances of this kind, with lan- 
guage like the following : " By so strongly marking 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 63 

our Lord's peculiar mode of instructing, and, in- 
stead of repeated general lessons on religious and 
moral topics, introducing so many references to 
time and place, to occasional occurrences and 
present objects, the evangelists furnish a presump- 
tion that his discourses are not artfully and cau- 
tiously invented by them, but are always the sub- 
stance of what he said, and often his very express- 
ions. And as our Lord's conversations so con- 
stantly took this turn, it may be collected that his 
grand purpose was to be useful and instructive, 
His excellent lessons were likely to be better re- 
tained this way ; as every object and event to 
which he had alluded served for a monitor and re- 
membrancer. It may be added, that this manner 
of teaching must sometimes have given a peculiar 
animation to his discourses: that a proud display of 
knowledge and wisdom is best avoided by pursuing 
this method : that it proves how full our Lord's 
mind was of the best thoughts, his mouth speak- 
ing out of the abundance of his heart : and that it 
may teach good men distantly to copy his admira- 
ble manner, by making a right use of common in- 
cidents on fit occasions." 1 

i Newcome's Observations. 



64 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Parable of the Old Garment, &e. 

MATT. IX. 16, 17 MARK II. 21, 22. LUKE V. 36, 37. 

*' No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment : 
for that which is put in to Jill it up, taketh from the garment, 
and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into 
old bottles : else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and 
the bottles perish : but they put new wine into new bottles, and 
both are preserved." — Matt. ix. 16, 17. 

The better to understand the design of the Sa- 
viour in this parable, it will be necessary to notice 
the occasion which called it forth. By refering to 
the 14th verse, we perceive that the disciples of 
John came to Jesus with this question : u Why do 
we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast 
not ?" In reply he said, u can the children of the 
bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is 
with them ? But the days will come when the 
bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then 
shall they fast." As though he had said, fasting is 
a sign of sorrow. The children of the bridecham- 
ber are not sorrowful while the bridegroom is with 
them, so neither are my disciples sorrowful while 
I remain ; but the time will come when the bride- 
groom shall be taken from them — when I shall be 
cut off, — and then, being sorrowful, they will fast ; 
not however from a sense of duty, but because 
those who are sorrowful naturally refuse food. 
Fasting you regard as a duty under the law of 
Moses ; but in my kingdom duty is of a higher 
nature, and consists in love. This is the differ- 
ence between the two dispensations, the one places 
importance on rites and ceremonies, the other 



NOTES ON THE [PARABLES. 65 

makes all duty to consist in love to God and man. 
Now " no man putteth a piece of new cloth unto 
an old garment ; for that which is put in to fill it up 
taketh from the garment, and the rent is made 
worse. Neither do men put new wine into old 
bottles ; else the bottles break, and the wine run- 
neth out, and the bottles perish ; but they put new 
wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." 
As though the Saviour had continued, you wish to 
unite the two dispensations, and compel my disci- 
ples to observe what you regard as the ceremonies 
of the Mosaic law. It never was designed that 
these two dispensations should be united. The 
gospel was not sent as a patch for the law, but to 
make an end of it, and remove it entirely. Neith- 
er can they be united ; they are so contrary in 
their natures that the new would destroy the old. 
As a piece oi' neiv cloth sewed to an old garment 
makes the rent worse, and as new wine will cause 
old bottles to break and perish, so would your re- 
ligion be destroyed it mine were incorporated with 
it. Adam Clarke takes the same view of the de- 
sign of this parable. " The Institutes of Christ, 
and those of the Pharisees, could never be brought 
to accord : an attempt to combine the two systems, 
would be as absurd as it would be distructive. 
The old covenant made way for the new, which 
was its completion and its end ; but with that old 
covenant the new cannot be incorporated." 1 

The Scribes and Pharisees on a certain occasion 
found fault with Jesus, because his disciples trans- 
gressed the tradition of the elders, in neglecting to 
wash their hands when they eat bread. Matt. xv. 
1, 2. And so strong was the disposition to mingle 
the institutes of Moses and the Pharisees with 

i Commentary on the passage. 

5 



6ft NOTES ON THE. PARABLES. 

those of Christ, that on one occasion, at Antioch, 
it excited " no small dissension and disputation." 
Certain men, who had come down from Judea r 
taught the Christians., that except they were cir- 
cumcised after the manner of Moses, they could 
not be saved. It became necessary to send a depu- 
tation consisting of Paul, Barnabus and others up 
to Jerusalem, to settle the matter ; and it was de u 
cided that circumcision was not binding upon the 
disciples of Christ. Acts xv. 

The force of the parable is easily perceived. A 
piece of new cloth put into an old garment will 
surely make the rent worse. The bottles of which 
the Saviour speaks were not made of glass, as they 
now generally are, but of skins. Dr. Campbell 
translates the phrase, " old leathern bottles :" and 
adds, in a note, "such vessels were commonly 
then, and in some countries are still of leather, 
which were not easily distended when old, and 
were consequently more ready to burst by the fer- 
mentation of the liquor." 1 "The modern Arabs-, 
as the Jewish people anciently did, keep their wa- 
ter, milk, wine and other liquors, in bottles made 
of skins. These bottles, when old, are frequently 
rent, but are capable of being repaired, by being 
bound up, or pieced in various ways. Of this de- 
scription were the wine bottles of the Gibeoniles-, old 
and rent, and bound up. Josh. ix. 4. As new wine 
was liable to ferment, and consequently would 
burst the old skins, all prudent persons would put 
it into new skins. Bottles of skin, it is well known, 
are still in use in Spain, where they are called Bor- 
rachas." 2 The doctrine of Christ was very fitly 
represented by new wine, — the same figure which 
the prophet Isaiah uses, ly. 1. The effect of min- 

1 Four Gospels. 2- Home's Intro, iii. 389. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 67 

gling the doctrine and precepts of Christ with the 
institutions of the Pharisees, would be to destroy 
those institutions, as the bottles were destroyed by 
being made the repositaries of new wine, 

One of the traditions of the Pharisees was, that 
men should wash their hands, when they eat bread, 
(Matt. xv. 1, 2) and this, not for purposes of clean- 
liness, but as a religious duty, to render them accepta- 
ble to God. On the other hand, Christ laid no 
stress on mere ceremonies, but made human duty 
to consist only in works of piety and benevolence. 
Now these precepts could not be blended ; and to 
allow authority to the precepts of Christ, was to 
render the others of none effect. " An eye for an 
eye, and a tooth for a tooth" — this was an ancient 
tradition, entirely incompatible with the precept of 
Christ, u resist not evil." Again, it was an ancient 
tradition, " thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate 
thine enemy." The command of Christ was di- 
rectly opposed thereto. " I say unto you love your 
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to 
them that hate you, and pray for them that de- 
spitefully use you and persecute you*.'' Matt. v. 
44. Such contradictory laws- could not both have 
influence on the mind ; and to set up one, was to 
overthrow the other. To use the words of the 
figure, the new wine of the gospel would burst the 
old bottles of Pharisaic tradition. 

In the present age of the world, we frequently 
perceive an unwise mixing of truth and error, fact 
and falsehood ; but this always takes place to the 
disadvantage of error, not of truth. Error, if it 
stand at all, must stand alone, it can receive no 
support from truth. Those who believe' the doc- 
trine of endless misery, do well to maintain also the 
doctrine of reprobation to eternal death, by the 



68 NOTES OX THE PARABLES 

absolute and original decree of God, and to say 
that God reprobated the non-elect because he hat- 
ed them, and that he made them to hate them, and 
render them miserable, and for no other purpose. 
This system would indeed be awful, but it would 
have the merit of being consistent with itself. Its 
repugnance to the benevolence of the human heart, 
has led many to endeavor to incorporate with it 
the mild doctrine of Jesus. Hence it is declared, 
that although God will punish some men without 
mercy and without end, he loves them a 7?, and 
wills the salvation of dU, and sent his blessed Son 
to die for all. This is putting the new wine into 
the old bottle ; and the result inevitably wilt be, 
that the old bottle will perish ; as Paul says of the 
doctrines of men, "which all are to perish with the 
using. n Col. ii. 22. Every person in the exercise 
of common sense will unquestionably conclude, that 
if God loves all men, and desires their salvation, 
and sent his Son to die for all, there is no danger 
that he will punish any unmercifully and endless- 
ly ; and thus the very attempt to patch the old 
doctrine of endless misery, will bring it into disre- 
pute, and at last cause it to be very generally re- 
jected. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 69 

ParaMe off the DeMoi^. 

LUKE VII. 41, 42. 

"There was a certain creditor, which had two debtors : the 
one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when 
they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both." 

We have, in this parable, an instance of the fa- 
cility with which our Saviour would throw togeth- 
er, at the moment, a train of circumstances in the 
form of a fable, for the purpose of producing in his 
proud and watchful opponents the strongest feel- 
ings of self-condemnation. To understand the 
parable, and the object of Jesus in uttering it, we 
shall find it necessary to take into consideration 
the principal events that are narrated in the con- 
text. 

In verse 36 it is said, c And one of the Pharisees 
desired him that he would eat with him. And he 
went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to 
meat.' Here it should be remarked first, that the 
Pharisees were that class of people, who, above all 
others, most bitterly opposed the Son of God. This 
Pharisee does not seem to have had any good ob- 
ject in inviting Jesus to his house. He certainly 
neglected the usual offices of respect in receiving a 
stranger ; and the probability is, that the invita- 
tion was given, in the hope that Jesus during the 
visit would say or do something, that the Pharisee 
might turn to his disadvantage. 

Verses 37 and 38, ' And, behold, a woman in the 
city which was a sinner, when she knew that Je- 
sus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an 
alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet be- 



70 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

hind him weeping, and began to wash his ieet with 
tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her 
head, and kissed Ins t'cei, and anointed them with 
the ointment.' This woman was said to be a sinner — 
probably she was generally known as such. She 
had heard of the fame of Jesus, and of his tender- 
ness to sinners, and learning that he was at the 
house of Simon, she obtruded herself upon his 
presence. She brought an alabaster box of oint- 
ment. In eastern countries, where the climate is 
very hot, perfumes are in frequent use ; and it was 
usual to anoint the heads of such as were thought 
worthy of distinguished attention, with some kind 
of perfume. She is- said, in the common version, 
to have stood at Ids feet, behind him, weeping. How 
was it possible, while Jesus sat at the table, that 
the woman could stand at his feet behind him ? 
Dr. Campbell says, ct she must in that case have 
been under the table. The chairs on which the 
guests were seated, would have effectually pre- 
cluded access from behind." The difficulty is re- 
moved, if we reflect, that the Jews did not sit 
when they took their meals, but reclined upon 
couches, by which the table was surrounded, so 
that their feet extended out from the table on every 
side. In this position the feet were presented to 
any person who approached the table from with- 
out. 1 The woman began to wash his feet with 
tears. The Jews wore no stockings, as we do ; 
and before they reclined on their couches at meals, 
they put off their sandals, which had no upper 
leather, and were tied about with strings called 
latchets. Frequent washing of the feet was there- 
fore necessary, and as a matter of civility, the feet 

i This subject is considered at large in Campbell's Prelim. Diss, 
viii. p. iii. sec. 3 — 6. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 71 

of visitors were washed by the Jews — a civility, 
however, that the Pharisee had neglected to shew 
to Jesus. The penitent sinner, who had entered 
the house, poured upon the feet of Jesus a flood of 
tears, wiped them with the hair of her head, kiss- 
ed them, and anointed them with the ointment. 
These were all expressions of high respect and 
reverence. 

Verse 40, c Now when the Pharisee which had 
bidden him, saw it, he spake within himself, say- 
ing, this man, if he were a prophet, would have 
known who, and what manner of woman this is 
that toucheth him, — for she is a sinner.' This was 
the test with Simon. Holy people, as he supposed, 
would have no intercourse with the unholy, not so 
much as to be even touched by them. Jesus did 
not drive this sinner from his presence with indig- 
nation, he permitted her to wash and anoint his 
feet, and this was sufficient to convince Simon, that 
he was not a prophet, but a vile impostor. These 
were his secret musings, and conclusions. Jesus 
knowing his thoughts said, ver. 40, 4 1 have some- 
what to say unto thee.' He rejoined, c Master, say 
on ;' and then Jesus spoke the parable before us, 
" There was a certain creditor, which had two 
debtors : the one owed five hundred pence, and the 
other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, 
he frankly forgave them both." 

It will now be perceived at once, that Jesus ut- 
tered this parable to justify his own .conduct in re- 
lation to the woman, to produce in Simon the feel- 
ing of self-condemnation, and to shew him, that 
although he thought this woman a very great sin- 
ner, and although she actually was a sinner, yet he 
was the greater sinner of the two. After showing 
that the creditor fully and frankly forgave both his 



72 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

debtors, Jesus asks Simon this question : c tell me, 
therefore, which will love him most.' Ver. 42. 
The case was so evident, that Simon could not but 
answer correctly, and just as Jesus intended he 
should answer — and in a manner too directly cal- 
culated to condemn himself— < I suppose that he to 
whom he forgave most.' Ver. 43. To this Jesus 
says, c thou has rightly judged,' and immediately 
proceeds to make the application. He contrasts 
the coldness with which Simon had received him, 
with the warmth of this woman's love ; and love 
and gratitude being the essence of pure religion, 
he had made Simon acknowledge, in the case of 
the forgiven debtor, that as the woman had had 
more sins forgiven, and therefore loved more than 
he, so he, of course, was the greater sinner of the 
two. He said unto Simon, c seest thou this woman? 
I entered into thy house, thou gavest me no water 
for my feet.' Thou didst not receive me with cus- 
tomary civility. 'But she hath washed my feet 
with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her 
head. Thou gavest me no kiss,' the usual sign of 
welcome, 'but this woman, since the time I came 
in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. Mine head 
with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath 
anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say 
unto thee, her sins which are many, are forgiven ; 
therefore 1 she loved much ; but to whom little is for- 
given the same loveth little.' Vers. 44 — 47. Here 
the case stood before Simon in such a form as 
would enable him to understand it. The parable 
was framed for his benefit, and intended to suit his 
views of himself. In his own estimation he had 
sinned little, and he was the debtor who owed 

l I follow the best commentators in rendering oti therefore. See 
Bp.Pearce, A. Clarke, Kenrick, Campbell, Whitby, Hammond, &c. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 73 

fifty pence. The woman, as he thought, had sin- 
ned much, and she was the debtor who owed five 
hundred pence. To the question, which would love 
most, when both were freely forgiven ? he answer- 
ed, he to whom most was forgiven. This was the 
case of the woman according to Simon's view of 
her; and therefore he himself had decided, that 
she loved more than he. Jesus pointed out to him, 
that this was really the case ; and that the wo- 
man's conduct justified the conclusion. Simon 
answered not a word. He stood self-condemned 
and self-upbraided before Jesus. 

The lesson here taught Simon is a humiliating 
lesson for every Pharisee, and one that they all 
ought to learn. 

' Turn Pharisee, thine eyes within, 
Nor longer look abroad for sin.' 

People of this class can see sins in others, but 
they never can see any in themselves ; and it is 
often necessary to present their characters, so that 
they'shall not recognize them as their own, in or- 
der to procure from them a correct judgment there- 
on. When Nathan wished David to pass sentence 
on himself, he showed him his real character, as 
though it belonged to some other person ; and Da- 
vid said immediately, the man that hath done this 
shall surely die. Simon decided, by the help of 
the parable, that the outrageous sinner, as he re- 
garded the woman, had, in fact, more love to God 
than he, and acknowledged the justice of Jesus in 
receiving her to his presence, and forgiving her 
sins. Reader, let us really be on our guard, lest 
we imbibe the spirit of the Pharisees. If we are 
really better than others, we shall love them, and 
pity them, and be grateful to God that he hath 
made us to differ ; and we shall not claim a reward 



74 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

for this, but feel that the debt lies on us, a debt of 
gratitude — eternal gratitude, love — eternal love- 



Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. 

MATT. XVIII. 23—34. 

"Therefore the kingdotn of heaven is likened wito a certain 
king which would take account of his servants. And when he 
had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him 
ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his 
lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and 
all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore 
fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience 
with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant 
was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him 
the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his 
fellow-servants, which owed him a hundred pence ; and he laid 
hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that 
thou owest. And his fellow-servant fell down at his feet, and 
besought him, saymg, Have patience with me, and I will pay 
thee all. And he would not ; but went and cast him into prison, 
till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow-servants saw 
what was done,they were very sorry, and came and told unto their 
lord alt that was done. Th*-_n his lord, after that he had called 
hirn, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all 
that debt, because thou desiredst me : Shouldst not thou also 
have had compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I had pity 
on thee ? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the 
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.* 9 

The object of this parable was to shew the ob- 
ligation under which men are laid by the kindness 
and mercy of God to them, to exercise the spirit of 
forgiveness towards one another; and also to show 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 76 

that God will not permit the sin of ingratitude and 
unforgiveness to go unpunished. 

The parable was introduced in the following 
manner : Jesus had been giving directions to his 
apostles how they should proceed in the cases of 
those who trespassed against them. Vers. 15 — 17. 
After this instruction had been delivered, Peter 
came to Jesus, and said, u how oft shall my brother 
sin against rne, and I forgive him. ? till seven times?" 
21. The reply of Jesus was, u I say not unto thee, 
until seven times, but until seventy times seven," 
i. e. without any limits! — a proverbial expression. 
And thus the Saviour introduces the parable. The 
dealings of God with men, in the kingdom of the 
gospel, are like those of a certain king, who would 
take account of his servants. And when he had 
begun to reckon, one was brought unto him who 
owed a?n immense sum — ten thousand talents. But 
because he could not pay, his lord commanded him 
to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that 
he had, and. payment to be made. This part of 
the parable is founded on an ancient Hebrew cus- 
tom, of selling a man, and his family, to make pay- 
ment of his debts. Exod. xxii 3. Lev. xxix. 39, 
47. 2 Kings iv. 1. The servant fell down, and 
entreated his lord to have patience and he would 
pay him all, whereupon the lord was moved with 
compassion and forgave him the debt. Here was 
a lesson which ought not to have been lost upon 
him. The king granted his request ; i. e. for the 
present he forbore to demand the payment, and put 
it off to a future time. This was all which the 
servant desired, vers. 26, 32, and all which is rep- 
resented as being done, ver. 34. But instead of 
following the compassionate example of his master, 
he found one of his fellow servants who owed him 



76 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

an hundred pence, a trifle to what he owed his 
lord, and he took him by the throat, and demanded 
payment. His fellow servant made the same re- 
quest of him, that he had made of his lord, and 
which had been granted him ; but he refused to 
grant it, and imprisoned him, till he should pay the 
debt. This act of injustice and ingratitude was 
reported to his lord, who called him, and said unto 
him, " thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all 
that debt, because thou desiredst me : shouldst not 
thou also have had compassion on thy fellow ser- 
vant, even as I had pity on thee r And his lord was 
wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he 
should pay all that was due unto him." Jailors, in 
that age, used torture to obtain the confession of 
crime, or the payment of debts, if the debtor was 
supposed to have any property concealed ; and 
sometimes, by the cruelty, to induce the relations 
of the prisoner to pay the debt for him. " So 
likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, 
if ye from your hearts, forgive not every one his 
brother their trespasses ;" i. e. God will punish 
you justly, for ingratitude and for a want of for- 
giveness. Cruelty is a greater sin in those who 
feel and know that they have had much forgiven, 
and such deserve a severer retribution, than those 
who are not sensible of the benefits which have 
been confered on them. We are not to suppose 
however, that Jesus meant that the conduct of the 
divine being towards the unforgiving, was, in all 
respects, like that of the lord who thrust his ser- 
vant into prison, and delivered him to the tormen- 
tors, i. e. we are not from this to attribute any 
cruelty to God. For first, nothing is more foreign 
to his nature ; and second, nothing is more foreign 
to the nature of Christ, the author of the parable ; 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 77 

and third, this would be charging upon God the 
very conduct which was so highly disapproved in 
the unforgiving servant. The great sin charged 
on him was, that he refused to forgive, and treated 
his debtor with cruelty ; and from this to charge 
the same conduct on God, would be to subvert the 
very design of the parable, which was to inculcate 
the virtue of forgiveness. 

It is plainly to be perceived, that Jesus intended, 
by this parable, to make the divine character the 
great foundation of human rectitude, and to shew 
men what they ought to do, by refering them to 
the conduct of the divine being. When he incul- 
cated the duty of benevolence, in his sermon on 
the mount, he predicated the obligation of men to 
exercise this spirit towards one another, of the fact 
that God exercised the same spirit toward all man- 
kind. See Matt. v. 44—48 and Luke vi. 32—36. 
He exhorted men to love their enemies, to bless 
such as cursed them, to do good to such as hated 
them ; and to encourage them in such a course of 
conduct, he pointed to the dealings of God with 
men. U He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on 
the unjust." u He is kind unto the unthankful and 
to the evil" And to shew that he made the divine 
conduct the foundation or criterion of human recti- 
tude, he closed that beautiful moral lesson by say- 
ing, " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in 
heaven is perfect." The object of the parable before 
us, was to teaclx that men ought to reflect on the 
dealings of Gocv with them, and discharge their 
obligations for Ms kindness to them, by a tender 
and compassionate conduct towards their fellow 
creatures. This parable Jesus carried out, and 
ended, according to the prevalent habits and cus- 



78 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

toms ; but not with any design, as we have said, 
to represent any cruelty in the divine administra- 
tion, since that would charge on God, the very con- 
duct condemned in the servant. The great truth 
is made sufficiently plain, that a want of forgive- 
ness in those who are sensible they have been for- 
given, is doubly sinful, and shall not escape an ade- 
quate punishment. 

It is of the first importance, that we notice here, 
that men should never ascribe any disposition, 
conduct or attribute to God, which they would re- 
gret to see in man. The character of God is the 
standard of perfection. u Be ye perfect, even as 
your Father in heaven is perfect." Whatever is right 
in God, is right in his creatures. Whatever is jus- 
tice in him, is jastice in us. Whatever is mercy in 
him, is mercy in us. Whatever is wrong in us, 
would be more highly wrong in him, and whatever 
is unjust in us, would be more highly unjust in him. 
Hence God enjoins it upon us, to be holy, for he is 
holy. The holiness of God is such a holiness as we 
need ; and therefore a right state of mind is called 
a conformity and a reconciliation to him. How impor- 
tant a lesson is this to those who ascribe to God 
a disposition and purposes which would disgrace 
mankind. Cruelty and partiality are the distin- 
guishing characteristics of much of the divinity of 
the present age ; and we are sorry to say, that the 
conduct of those who have maintained this divini- 
ty, has too often conformed to it. The gospel 
breathes the spirit of "peace on earth, and good will 
to men ;" and those who have imbibed this gospel, 
will find it operating on their hearts, to induce 
them to " love their enemies," and to " be kind to 
the unthankful and to the evil." 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 79 

Parable of the CfoocI Samaritan •- 

LUKE X. 30— 35. 

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and 
fell among thieves* which stripped him of his raiment, and 
wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by 
chance there came deivn a certain priest that way ; and when 
lit saw Him r he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Le- 
vite, when he mas* at the place, came and looked on him,, and 
passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he 
journeyed, came where he was : and when he saw him, he had 
compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his 
wounds, pouring, in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, 
and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the 
morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave 
them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and 
whatsoever thou spendest niorc, when I come again I will repay 
thee." 

The occasion which called forth this parable, 
will be seen in the passage which immediately pre- 
cedes it. It seems that a certain lawyer came, 
with no very good motives, to the Saviour, and put 
this question ; ' Master, what shall I do to inherit 
eternal life ?' In return Jesus said to him, 'what 
is written in the law ? how readest thou ?' The 
lawyer replied with a quotation from the law — 
'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbor as 
thyself.'' Jesus informed him that he had answered 
correctly, and added, ' this do, and thou shalt live.' 
It occurred to the lawyer probably, that he might 
be suspected by Jesus of having violated that part 



80 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

of the commandment, which required him to love 
his neighbor as he loved himself; and being c willing 
to justify himself, he said unto Jesus, and who is 
my neighbor r To this question the parable was 
designed as a reply ; and it appears evidently to 
have been the intention of Jesus, to make this 
lawyer answer his own question. It should be re- 
marked, that the Jews considered persons of their 
own nation only to be neighbors to them. 1 They 
contracted a great aversion to other nations, more 
particularly to the Samaritans, with whom they 
would hold no intercourse. The lawyer did not 
consider himself as having violated the divine com- 
mand ; but he felt fearful that Jesus would give too 
wide a signification to it, and thereby convict him 
of disobedience, which was the result he intended 
to guard against, in proposing the question, < who 
is my neighbor ?' To this question, we have stat- 
ed, Jesus intended the lawyer should furnish an 
answer, and in that design, proposed the parable 
before us. 

c A certain man went down from Jerusalem to 
Jericho,' i. e. a certain Jew went down to Jericho. 
Dr. Campbell translates the sentence, c a man of 
Jerusalem travelling to Jericho. 2 The whole en- 
ergy of the parable depends on this circumstance, 
that the person who received the charitable aid 
was a Jew, and the person who afforded it a Sa- 
maritan. 

u And fell among thieves, which stripped him of his 
raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half 

1 Dr. Lightfoot has cited a striking illustration of this fact from 
Maimonides. " A Jew sees a Gentile fall into the sea, let him by 
no means lift him out : for it is written, ( Thou shalt not rise up 
againt the blood of thy neighbor.' But this is not thy neighbor." 
Works ii. 152. 

2 Note on the place. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 81 

dtady The scene of this parable is very judicious- 
ly laid. Jesus placed it on the road leading from 
Jerusalem to Jericho, because the chain of moun- 
tains which extended from the mount of Olives 
near Jerusalem to the plain of Jericho, was always 
infested with robbers. No place can be imagined 
more favorable for the attacks of banditti, or better 
adapted than were its caves for their concealment; 1 

l In Buckingham's Travels in Palestine, we have the following ac- 
count of this road : 

"The whole of this road from Jerusalem to the Jordan is held to 
be the most dangerous about Palestine, and, indeed, in this portion 
of it, the very aspect of the scenery is sufficient, on the one hand, to 
tempt to robbery and murder, and on the other, to occasion a dream 
of it to those who pass that way. It was partly to prevent any ac- 
cident happening to us in this early stage of our journey, and partly, 
perhaps, to calm our fears on that score, that a messenger had been 
despatched by our guides to an encampment of their tribe near, de- 
siring them to send an escort to meet us at this place. We were 
met here accordingly, by a band of about twenty persons on foot, 
all armed with matchlocks, and presenting the most ferocious and 
robberlike appearance that could be imagined. The effect of this 
was heightened by the shouts which they sent forth from hill to hill, 
and which were re-echoed through all the valleys, while the bold 
projecting crags of rock, the dark shadows in which every thing lay 
buried below, the towering height of the cliffs above, and the for- 
bidding desolation which every where reigned around, presented a 
picture that was quite in harmony throughout all its parts. It made 
us feel most forcibly, the propriety of its being chosen as the scene 
of the delightful tale of compassion which we had before so often 
admired for its doctrine, independently of its local beauty. One 
must be amid these wild and gloomy solitudes, surrounded by an 
armed band, and feel the impatience of the traveller who rushes on 
to catch a new view to every pass and turn ; one must be alarmed at 
the very tramp of the horses' hoofs rebounding through the caverned 
rocks, and at the savage shouts of the footmen, scarcely less loud 
than the echoing thunder produced by the discharge of their pieces 
in the valleys ; one must witness all this upon the spot, before the 
full force and beautv of the admirable story of the Good Samaritan 
can be perceired. Here, pillage, wounds, and death would be ac- 
companied with double terror, from the frightful aspect of every thing 
around. Here, the unfeeling act of passing by a fellow creature in 
distress, as the Priest and Levite are said to have done, strikes one 

6 



82 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

and indeed, on account of the many robberies com- 
mitted there, it was called, as Jerome says, the 
bloody way. The classes or stations of the priests 
and Levites were fixed at Jericho as well as at Je- 
rusalem, and 12,000 of them are said to have re- 
sided there ; a circumstance which accounts very 
naturally for the priest and Levite happening* to 
pass in that road. It should be remembered, that 
they were of the same nation with the Jew ; but 
when they saw him in his miserable condition, they 
passed by and gave him no relief. 

At length u a certain Samaritan, as he journey- 
ed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he 
had compassion on him, and went to him, and 
bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, (ar- 
ticles with which travellers in the east frequently 
furnished themselves) and set him on his own 
beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of 
him." The Samaritans were a people towards 
whom the Jews cherished an unconquerable ha- 
tred ; and they, on their part, resented the con- 
duct of the Jews, with great indignation. The 
evangelists furnish proof of this. On passing 
through Samaria, Jesus on a certain occasion, ask- 
ed water of a woman of that country ; and she 
marvelled saying, 4 How is that thou, being a Jew, 
askest drink of me, who am a woman of Samaria, 
for the Jews have no dealings ivith the Samaritans.* 
This enmity was carried to such an extent, that 
the woman was surprised to find a Jew asking of 

with horror, as an act almost more than inhuman. And here, too, 
the compassion of the Good Samaritan is doubly virtuous, from the 
purity of the motive which must have led to it, in a spot where 
no eyes were fixed on him to draw forth the performance of any 
duty, and from the bravery which was necessary to admit of a man's 
exposing himself by such delay, to the risk of a similar fate to that 
from which he was endeavouring to rescue his fellow creature." 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 83 

her so small a favor as a draught of water. So, 
on another occasion, as Jesus was travelling to- 
wards Jerusalem, he sent messengers before him, 
to a Samaritan village, to make ready for him. Be- 
cause he was going to Jerusalem, the Samaritans 
would not receive him; and the disciples immediate- 
ly, in the common spirit of their countrymen, re- 
quested permission of Christ to command fire from 
heaven to consume them, a request for which 
they received a severe rebuke from their master. 

The Samaritan in the parable, when he came to 
the wounded Jew, forgets all the indignities his 
countrymen had suffered from that nation, and im- 
mediately began to afford him all the relief in his 
power. Jesus represents him, as parting with all 
the money he had about his person, to pay the ex- 
pences at the inn ; and leaving his promise, when 
he separated, that, if there were any further charge, 
he would see it paid. 

Having thus gone through the parable, Jesus 
proposes this question to the lawyer: c which 
now of these three (i. e. the priest, the Levite, or 
the Samaritan) thinkest thou was neighbor unto him 
that fell among the thieves ?' What answer did 
the lawyer return ? The very answer that he was 
obliged to return, although it was against his own 
practice, and a direct condemnation of the customs 
of his countrymen. He declared that the Samari- 
tan, who showed mercy on him, was neighbor to 
him that fell among thieves. And here the design 
of the parable appears — it was to shew the lawyer 
that, while he hated other nations, he did not obey 
the divine law ; and that the practice of the Jews 
in limiting the command to the love of their own 
conntrymcn was highly erroneous ; that our neigh- 
bors are not confined to the country in which we 



84 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

live, nor to the sect or denomination to which we 
belong ; but any person in distress, and needing 
our assistance, is our neighbor, and it is our duty 
to love him, and assist him by the means which 
God has placed in our hands. We have here 
another instance, of the success of our Saviour, in 
producing the strongest feelings of self condemna- 
tion, by means of his parables. 

The occasion is closed by the Saviour with a 
beautiful moral — " Go thou and do likewise." Imi- 
tate the good Samaritan ; let your love, like his, 
know no bounds ; do good to the unfortunate of 
every name and nation. This is the sense of the 
divine command, 'thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
thyself.' Let the emotions of benevolence pre- 
dominate in our hearts towards all mankind; reckon 
them as related to us, as being members of the 
great family to which we belong, and consider our- 
selves under obligations to render them kindnesa 
and compassion whenever occasion demands. 

" Go thou and do likewise." Christians of the 
present age, here is a lesson for you. Have you 
felt a peculiar friendship for those of your own sect? 
Where will you find any thing in the conduct of 
your Lord, that will stand as an example for this ? 
Have you possesed the spirit of bitterness and 
wrath towards persons of other faiths, and other 
names ? Have you calumniated their characters, 
misrepresented their opinions^ and done them other 
injuries ? Remember the conduct of the good Sa- 
maritan, and the design which your Lord had in 
view in framing the parable in which his benevo- 
lent character is drawn. 

It is worthy of remark, that the parables of our 
Lord, are all fruitful in moral sentiment, and incuL- 
cate, in the strongest manner, the practice of the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 85 

virtues. Inimitable as they are in their descrip- 
tions, they are to be prized above all, for the moral 
tendency they must exert on every mind, suitably 
penetrated with the sentiments they contain. No 
teacher has ever exhibited a more illustrious tri- 
umph of compassion over principles by which it 
was forcibly counteracted, than we find in the case 
of the Samaritan. 



Parable of a Man who doated on Riches. 

LUKE XII. 16—20. 

" The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 
Jlnd he. thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because 
I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And. he said, this will 
I do: I will pull doivn my barns, and build greater : and there 
will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I ivill say to 
my soul-, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; 
take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto 
him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: 
then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?" 

There will be no difficulty in ascertaining the 
object of this parable, if we consider the circum- 
stances which called it forth. A person came to 
Jesus with this request : ' Master, speak to my 
brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.' 
Ver. 13. He declined an interference in business 
which did not concern him. ' Who made me a 
judge, or divider over you ?' (ver. 14) said he. He 
embraced the opportunity to give this caution : 
'Take heed, and beware of covetousness,' and im- 
mediately adds this reason, f for a man's life con- 
sisteth not in the abundance of the things which he 



86 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

possesseth.' Ver. 15. To illustrate the truth of 
this observation, was the object of the parable be- 
fore us. 

4 The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plen- 
tifully S His wealth did not increase from rapine, 
or extortion, or injustice, nor from denying himself 
the common comforts of life, nor from laborious ex- 
ertions ; but in the most innocent way possible, by 
the bounty of divine Providence, in making his 
lands fruitful, the produce of which was so great he 
knew not where to store it. 'And he thought within 
himself saying, what shall I do, because I have no room 
where to bestow (or lay up) my fruitsV His was the 
case of a man whose heart was solely set on earth- 
ly riches. God had blessed him with great pos- 
sessions ; and it did not occur to him, that he was 
thereby laid under obligation to assist the needy ; 
his whole care was to lay it up for future years. 
c And he said, this will I do: I will pulldown my barns, 
and build greater, and there will I bestow (or lay up) 
all my fruits and my goods.' Not one cent for the 
poor, all is for himself, and the hoarding up of these 
goods was his sole object. 'And I will say to my soul, 
(another expression to signify, I will say to myself) 
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take 
thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.' Here the char- 
acter which Jesus was drawing is fully developed. 
This person's sole hope of happiness for the future 
lay in his riches, and, satisfied to the full with 
these, he asked no more. Doing good to his fel- 
low men, improving his own mind, cultivating in 
his heart the Christian virtues, making himself ac- 
quainted with the joyful tidings of the gospel, and 
preparing for the day of adversity, sickness and 
death by cherishing the hope inspired by that gos- 
pel, these were not the objects of his consideration. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 87 

To have much goods, to take ease, eat, drink and 
be merry, were the whole objects of his life, and 
death came not into his thoughts. Bat this man 
was just as insecure as others — a man's life doth 
not consist in the abundance of the things he pos- 
sesseth. And hence, it was said to him, c Thoufool, 
this night thy soul shall be required of thee.' Thou 
canst not carry thy goods with thee to the grave, 
c then whose shall these things be which thou hast providedV 
Immediately on concluding the parable Jesus adds, 
(and herein the true application of the parable is 
seen) c So is he that la}^eth up treasure for himself, 
and is not rich toward Cod.' 

We infer from this parable, the important max- 
im deduced, from the parable of the c treasure hid 
in the field,' viz. that true wisdom and understand- 
ing are the greatest of all riches ; and that without 
these, the goods of this world are not worth the 
having. Hence the greatest of all folly, is for a 
man to place all his trust in worldly riches, to rely 
on them entirely for future comfort and support, 
and make no preparation for the hour of adversity 
and death We have a remarkable instance of 
true wisdom in the case of Solomon, about the 
time of his elevation to the throne. He had the 
privilege to make any request he was disposed to. 
He did not ask for riches, nor for victory over his 
enemies, nor for long life ; but considering his 
weakness, and the important duties that devolved 
upon him in the office he filled, he prayed, ' Give, 
therefore, thy servant an understanding hearth And 
infinite wisdom vouchsafed to reply, 'because thou 
hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thy- 
self long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, 
nor hast asked the life of thine enemies ; but hast 
asked for thyself understanding to discern judg- 



88 XOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

rnent, behold, I have done according to thy words: 
lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding 
heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, 
neither alter thee shall any arise like unto thee. 
And I have also given thee that which thou hast 
not asked, both riches and honor, so that there 
shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all 
thy days,' 1 Kings iii. 11 — 13. Solomon's supreme 
desire was for true wisdom, and to this was added 
every other good. He might well say, then, as he 
did in afterlife, c wisdom is the principal thing; 
therefore, get wisdom, and with all thy getting get 
understanding.' Prov. iv. 7. He that hath wis- 
dom will enjoy all else that he possesses ; and hence 
the Saviour saith, Matt. vi. 33, 4 Seek ye first the 
kingdom of God, and bis righteousness, and all 
these things shall be added unto you.' 

Reader, your chief aim should be to be wise. 
Seek a knowledge of God, and of your own duty. 
Do your duty faithfully, and you will have a com- 
petent portion of this world's goods. Never let a 
desire of gain engross your whole heart. Make a 
prudent use of what God shall give you — be kind 
to the distressed — remember the uncertainty of 
life — and set not your heart so much on this world, 
as to be greatly surprised and disappointed when 
God shall say, * this night thy soul shall be required 
of thee.' 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 89 

Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. 

LUKE XIII. 6—9. 

* % A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his vineyard; and 
he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said 
he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I 
come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none : cut it down: 
why cumbereth it the ground? And he, answering, said unto 
him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, 
and dung it. And if it bear fruit, well : and if not, then after 
that thou shalt cut it down.'''' 

We shall be led to the true application of this 
parable, by the preceding context. At the first 
verse of the chapter, we are informed, that some 
who were present with the Saviour, told him of the 
Galileans, f whose blood Pilate had mingled with 
their sacrifices.' These Galileans had come up to 
Jerusalem to offer sacrifices ; and when assembled 
for that purpose, Pilate, for their opposition to the 
Roman government as it is supposed, attacked 
them with an armed force, and put them to death. 
So singular a calamity might have induced the peo- 
ple to think they had been guilty of some enormous 
crime, which God had seen fit to punish in this 
signal manner ; but Jesus cautions them against 
such a conclusion, by saying, c Suppose ye that 
these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, 
because they' suffered such things ? I tell you, nay ; 
but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish ;' 
i, e. in a like way, in a similar manner. This can- 
not be applied to the future state, because it is evi- 
dent that Jesus intended there would be a similari- 
ty between the destruction of the Jews and the 



90 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Galileans here spoken of. The Saviour then re- 
fered to the case of eighteen men on whom the 
tower of Siloam fell, and slew them, and inquired, 
c think ye that they were sinners above all men 
that dwell at Jerusalem :' This question he an- 
swered in the negative, and added. s except ye re- 
pent, ye shall all likewise perish.' It is a fact which 
should not be forgotten, that there was a peculiar 
resemblance between the destruction of the Gali- 
leans, and those on whom the tower of Siloam fell, 
when compared with the destruction of the Jews. 
The first mentioned, it is thought, were slain for 
their opposition to the Roman government, for the 
Galileans had a strong antipathy to the Romans. 
Now the Jews, at the destruction of their city, per- 
ished not only by the assaults of the Roman armies, 
but they fell in the temple many of them, their 
blood was mingled with their sacrifices, and they 
were buried in the ruins of the temple. Josephus 
declares, that the Jews were first incited to rebel- 
lion by those who persuaded them, that paying 
tribute was a sign of slavery, and this became the 
seed of their future calamities. 1 When the war 
broke out. they were attacked not only by the Ro- 
mans, but they fought one against another, both in 
the city and temple. That many of the Jews per- 
ished as did the Galileans, Josephus also testifies. 
Under the president Cumanus. twenty five thous- 
and perished about the temple at the feast of pass- 
over; 2 under Fiorus there was a multifarious slaugh- 
ter of them fighting in the temple, and one Mana- 
hem was slain as he worshipped there ; 3 that many 
of the Zealots perished in the temple, and washed 
the holy ground with their blood, 4 and that the 

1 Antiq. 1. xviii. c. 1. 1. xx. c. 5. De Bell. Jud. 1. ii. c. 1, 12, 13. 
t Antiq. I xx. c. 4. 3 De Bell. Jud. 1. ii. c. 31. 

^DeBell. Jud. 1. ir. e. 14. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 91 

Idameans coming in to their help, eight thousand 
five hundred of the party of Ananus the high 
priest were slain, so that the whole outward tem- 
ple was washed over with blood ; x that in that 
three fold sedition which arose in Jerusalem, be- 
twixt Eleazer keeping the inward temple, John 
with his associates seizing the outward temple, and 
Simon the upper city, the temple was every where 
polluted with slaughters, the weapons flew every 
where and fell upon the priests, and those who 
officiated at the altar — many who came from far to 
worship fell before their sacrifices^ and sprinkled the 
altar with their blood, insomuch that the blood of 
the dead carcasses made a pool in the holy court. 
At the feast of unleavened bread, Eleazer and his 
companions, opening a gate for the people that 
came to worship, and to offer sacrifice, John, tak- 
ing advantage of that opportunity, sent in with 
them many of his party, having short swords under 
their garments, who invaded Eleazer's party, and 
filled that temple with the blood of the zealots, and 
of the people ; 2 and when Titus fought against the 
temple, a multitude of dead bodies lay round the altar, 
and the blood ran down the steps of the temple, 
and many perished by the mrins of the towers or porches. 3 
We have been thus particular, in order to restore 
to its true sense an oft perverted passage of scrip- 
ture. These words — c except ye repent, ye shall 
all likewise perish,' have been cited frequently, to 
establish the doctrine of endless terment. It is 
evident, that Jesus had reference to the destruc- 
tion of the Galileans, and those on whom the tower 
of Siloam fell ; and says to the Jews, c except ye 
repent, ye shall all likewise perish,' i. e in the same 

1 De Bell. Jud. 1. xvi. c, 17. 2 De Bell. Jud. 1. vi. c. 1. 

s De Bell. Jud. 1. vi. c. 4. 



92 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

way, or manner ; and we have shown, by the quo- 
tations from Josephus, that the Jewish nation did 
perish in that manner. The words did not refer, 
and should not be applied, to mankind generally, 
but to the Jews in particular. The word render- 
ed likewise is hosautos, and signifies, says Parkhurst, 
c in the same way, or like manner. 51 Bishop Pearee 
paraphrases the passage, c except ye, the nation of 
the Jews, repent, your state shall be destroyed.' 2 
Hammond is to the same purport— c If you continue 
your present wicked practices, raising sedition un- 
der pretence of piety as frequently you are apt to 
do, then as they perished at the day of Pascha at 
their sacrifice, so shall a multitude of you on that 
very day, in the temple be slaughtered like sheep, 
and that for the same cause, a sedition raised in 
the city.' 3 Adam Clarke says, on the words, 'ye 
shall all likewise perish' — c ye shall perish in a like 
way, in the same manner. This prediction of our 
Lord was literally fulfilled. When the city was 
taken by the Romans, multitudes of the priests, 
&c. who were going on with their sacrifices, were 
slain, and their blood was mingled with the blood 
of their victims ; and multitudes were buried under 
the ruins of the walls, houses and temples.' 4 

Thus we have traced the preceding context. 
The cases of the Galileans, and those on whom the 
tower of Siloam fell, had been refered to, and Jesus 
had told the Jews, that unless they repented, i. e. 
broke off their sins, and turned to righteousness, 
they would perish in a like manner with the oth- 
ers ; and as they did not repent, the prediction was 

1 Lex. sub voc. 2 Com. on passage. 

3 Par. and Annot. on the passage. 

4 Com. on the passage. See also a very valuable note in Whit- 
by's Commentary on this passage, who adduces the authority of 
Grotius to the same point. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 93 

literally fulfilled. Here Jesus introduced the parable 
of the barren fig* tree. The owner came and sought 
fruit thereon, and found none. He said to the 
keeper of his vineyard, these three years I have 
sought fruit on this tree, and find none — cut it 
down, why cumbereth it the grouud ? He is per- 
suaded to let it alone one year, till it shall be dug 
about, and nurtured ; after which, if it bore fruit, 
well ; if not, it was to be destroyed. 

By the fig tree our Lord intended the house of 
Israel. Isaiah described them under the figure of 
a vine that brought forth wild grapes, which, in 
consequence, was to be destroyed, v. 1 — 7. 

The fig tree brought forth no fruit. The Jews 
were barren in works of righteousness ; they were 
c a seed of evil doers.' 

The fig tree was preserved after it was worthy 
only of destruction, and was nourished, but to no 
effect, it continued barren. Thus the house of 
Israel had been dealt with. They had long been 
unfruitful, and were fit for the fate which awaited 
them. God sent them his Son to preach to them, 
and to them alone ; the apostles were sent to this 
nation only ; and the gospel was faithfully pro- 
claimed to them. No other tree was nurtured, 
until this fig tree, after all the care bestowed on 
it, had failed to bear fruit, and had been cut down. 

This fig tree was cut down. The axe was laid 
at the root. See the notes on the parable of the 
axe. The observations of Adam Clarke on Matt, 
iii. 10 are worthy of insertion here. "It was cus- 
tomary, with the Jewish prophets, to represent the 
kingdoms, nations and individuals whose ruin they 
predicted, under the figure of forests and trees, 
doomed to be cut down. See Jer. xlvi. 22, 23. 
Ezk. xxxi. 3, 11, 12. The Jewish nation is the 



94 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

tree, and the Romans the axe, which, by the just 
judgment of God, was speedily to cut it down. It 
has been well observed, that there is an allusion 
here to a woodman, who, having marked a tree for 
excision, lays his axe at its root, and strips off his 
outer garment, that he may wield his blows more 
powerfully, and that his work may be quickly per- 
formed. For about sixty years before the coming 
of Christ, this axe had been lying at the root of 
the Jewish tree, Judea having been a province to 
the Roman Empire, from the time that Pompey 
took the city of Jerusalem, during the contentions 
of the two brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, 
which was about sixty-three years before the com- 
ing of Christ- See Josephus Antiq. 1. xiv. c. 1 — 5. 
But as the country might be still considered as in 
the hands of the Jews, though subject to the Ro- 
mans, and God had waited on them now nearly 
ninety years from the above time, expecting them 
to bring forth fruit, and none was yet produced, 
he kept the Romans, as an axe, lying at the root 
of this tree, who were ready to cut it down the 
moment God gave them the permission. 1 

i Com. on Matt. iii. 10. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 95 

Parable of the Master of the House. 

LUKE XIII. 24—29. 

(i Strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many, I say unto 
you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once 
the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, 
and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open unto us ; and he shall answer and say unto 
you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to 
say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast 
taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you 
not whence ye are ; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall 
see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in 
the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they 
shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the 
north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom 
of God." 

In this passage the parable and the application 
are closely blended, so that it is with difficulty we 
can separate the one from the other. This will 
not, however, hinder us from obtaining the true 
application. 

It seems that a person came to Jesus with this 
question : ' Lord, are there few that be saved ?' 
In answer, he replied, 'strive to enter in at the 
strait gate, 5 &c. It ought in the first place to be 
settled, what did this person mean, when he in- 
quired, 'are there few that be savedV Did he in- 
tend to inquire, are there few who will finally be 
saved from hell torments in the world to come ? 
We think not. In order to ascertain the proper 
import of this question, we must seek the true 



96 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

sense of the word saved. It is generally supposed 
that it signifies deliverance from misery in the fu- 
ture existence, but we are confident that a brief 
examination, will shew the incorrectness of that 
supposition. Home says, 'it is not uncommon, 
even in the best versions, to find meanings put 
upon the sacred text, which are totally foreign to 
the intention of the inspired penmen. If the trans- 
lators of our common version, had rendered the 
original of Acts ii. 47 literally, it would have run 
thus — the Lord added daily to the church, the saved; 
that is, those who were saved frorji their sins and 
prejudices. 1 Dr. Whitby says, 'the Christians are 
styled the saved. So 1 Cor. i. 18, to us the saved, 
Christ crucified is the power of God ; and when 
the means of salvation, or that grace of God which 
brings salvation, was vouchsafed to them, salva- 
tion is said to come, Luke xix. 9. Rom. xi. 11, or 
to be sent to them, Acts xiii. 16. xxviii. 23. ' 2 This 
fact should be kept in remembrance, that this ex- 
pression — the saved — was a common term that the 
Christians chose by which to designate themselves. 
They did not mean by it persons who had been 
translated to an immortal existence, but persons 
who had been turned from darkness to light, from 
the power of sin and satan unto God, and who had 
been translated into the kingdom of God's dear 
Son. Thus, when the jailor said to Paul and Silas, 
' Sirs, what must I do to he saved?' the import was — 
what must I do to be one of the saved ? what must 
I do to be as you are ? And hence they returned 
the very answer which, in that case, we should 
have expected, c believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.' Acts xvi. 
31. The intention, therefore, of the person who 

i Introduction ii. 683, 6S4. 2 Com. on Acts ii. 47. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 97 

asked Jesus the question, c are there few that be 
saved ?•' seems to have been this — are there few 
that have embraced the religion you teach ? Is it 
to be embraced by many, or confined to a few ? 
He seems to have expected to justify his rejection 
of the gospel by the example of the many. Jesus 
replies, c strive to enter in at the strait gate, for 
many I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and 
shall not be able ' Entering at the strait gate was 
embracing the religion of Christ, and was the same 
thing as being saved. Hence Kenrick very ju- 
diciously observes; c Believing in Christ, is, with 
propriety, called being saved, because it was at- 
tended with temporal deliverance ; whereas unbe- 
lief produded inevitable destruction, in the calami- 
ties which awaited the Jewish nation, Christ, 
therefore, in his answer to the question, exhorts 
the persoti who made it, and others who might 
hear it, to enter the strait gate, that is, to embrace 
his religion, which was at that time attended with 
many difficulties, and which might fitly be compar- 
ed to entering a strait or narrow passage ; and he 
enforces this exhortation, by assuring them that 
the time would come, when many would seek an 
entrance into the kingdom of the Messiah, but 
would be refused admission.' 1 

The very exhortation, 'strive to enter in,' shows 
that there were difficulties to encounter. These 
difficulties however, were not in the nature of the 
religion of Christ abstractly considered ; but exist- 
ed in the errors and vices of the times, and the cor- 
rupt prejudices of the age, to which his religion 
was directly opposed. This state of things made 
the entrance into the gospel difficult, and men had 
to stnve to attain it. Had the religion of Jesus been 

l Expos, on the passage. 

7 



98 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the popular religion, embraced and countenanced 
by the rich and great, men naturally, and from mo- 
tives of worldly interest woulJ have embraced it; 
if they had strove at ali in that case, it must have 
been to have kept out. The blessed doctrine of 
universal grace at the present day, like Christianity 
in the primitive age, is opposed by the proud, the 
self-righteous, and those who call themselves religious ; 
and it hence requires an effort on the part of those 
who embrace it, to rise above the influences of the 
world, and sacrifice all minor considerations to the 
cause of truth. Popular prejudice, in ihe days of 
Christ, set, like the current of a river, against the 
truth ; and those who fallowed him, were obliged 
to encounter this obstacle, and gain truth under all 
these disadvantages. For this reason entrance into 
the gospel was represented by a strait gate, to which 
men had access by striving. 

But there is another fact to be noticed. Not 
every one that did strive was able to enter in. 
'Many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and 
shall not be able. 5 This seems to be a hard case, 
that after endeavoring to enter the gate of the gos- 
pel, they should be excluded. For what reason 
was this ? Answer, because they did not strive 
soon enough. While the enemies of Jesus were 
comparatively safe, eating, and drinking and mak- 
ing merry, they could not protess the name of 
Christ before men ; but when thick troubles began 
to gather upon the Jewish church and state, and 
the divine favor began to be manifested in an un- 
usual manner in favor of the persecuted religion of 
Jesus, then they turned their eyes to him, and 
cried Lord, Lord, open the gate of the gospel unto 
us. To these events the following words of Christ 
are applicable. 'Whosoever, therefore, shall be 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 99 

ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous 
and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of 
Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his 
Father, with the holy angels ;' and Jesus assured 
them that this should take place, during the natural 
lives of that generation. Mark viii. 38 compared 
with ix. 1. To illustrate this fact, the parable now 
under consideration was spoken. " When once 
the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut 
to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to 
knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto 
us, and he shall answer and say unto you, I know 
you not whence ye are. Then shall ye begin to 
say, we have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and 
thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, 
I tell you I know you not whence ye are : depart 
from me all ye workers of iniquity." The purport 
of tins adviee is, strive to enter now into the accept- 
ance and profession of my gospel ; be not ashamed 
of me, nor of my doctrine before this sinful genera- 
tion. If you do not embrace the present opportuni- 
ty, the time will come when you will regret it. 
Your nation will soon be overthrown with the most 
dreadful calamities ; and then not a h?ir on the 
heads of my disciples shall be hurt. When that 
time comes, it will be too late for you to enter the 
kingdom of God ; the door will be shut ; you will 
wish you had embraced past opportunities ; but it 
will be of no avail ; you will put forth pretences 
and claims to be considered my followers, but you 
will not have the test of true discipleship. At that 
critical time, there cannot be this change of char- 
acter. Christians then will be christians, and ene- 
mies must remain enemies — the judgments cannot 
be averted. 'He that is unjust will then be unjust 
still ; he that is filthy will be filthy still ; he that is 



100 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

righteous will be righteous still ; and he that is holy 
will be holy still.' Rev. xxii. II. 1 I shall then 
command you to depart from me, all ye workers of 
iniquity. 

Vers. 28, 29. There shall be weeping and gnash- 
ing of teeth, when ye (the Jews) shall see Abra- 
ham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in 
the kingdom of GW, and you yourselves thrust out. 
And they (the Gentiles) shall come from the east, 
and from the west, and from the north, and from the 
south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. That 
the kingdom of God signified the spiritual reign of 
the Messiah, all commentators have conceded ; and 
this we have shown in the notes on the parable of 
the offending hand or foot, pp. 12 — 14. The Jews, 
when the time of sober reflection came, would see 
that Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, and all the 
prophets, did in reality embrace Christ, by faith in 
the promises made te them, and in this sense, they 
entered the kingdom of God. These patriarchs, 
and the prophets, the Jews held in the highest es- 
timation ; and nothing could be a greater grief to 
them, than to see them in the kingdom of God, and 
they themselves cast out ; and when that took 
place, therefore, it is well said, " there shall be weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth,' the must demonstrable 
signs of sorrow; and this was heightened by the 
reflection, that they should see the Genti'es, whom 
they had always despised, enjoying in this king- 
dom the fellowship of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 
This is the view taken of this subject by Dr. Whit- 
by, whose authority in this case will not be im- 
paired by the suspicion, that he was biased by his 

1 That this passage had its fulfillment at the coming of Christ f 
destroy the Jewish state, is evident from comparing Rev. xxii. 10, 
11 an'd 12. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 101 

creed in the interpetration, " To lie down with 
Abraham, Isaoc, and Jacob, in the kingdom of 
heaven, doth not signify to enjoy everlasting hap- 
piness in heaven with them, but only to become 
the sons of Abraham through faith, Gal. iii. 7, and 
so to be blessed with faithful Abraham, ver. 9, to 
have the blessing of Abraham coming on them, that 
they may receive the promise of the spirit, ver. 14 
through faith in Christ to be the seed of Abraham 
and heirs according to the promise, ver. 29, viz: 
the promise made to Abraham, Gen. xii. 3. renew- 
ed to Isaac Gen. xxvi. 4, and confirmed to Jacob 
Gen xxviii. 14, and to be, according to Isaac, the 
children of promise, Gal. iv. 28. This, says Christ, 
shall be the blessing of the believing Gentiles ; they 
shall be sons of Abraham, and heirs of the promises 
made to the patriarchs, and mentioned by all the 
holy prophets of the Old Testament, whereas, the 
unbelieving Jews, wanting the faith of Abraham, 
shall be deprived of the blessings promised to his 
seed ; for they who seek to enter, and shall not be 
able, because the master has shut to his door, Luke 
xiii. 24, 25, are those Jews who sorght for right- 
eousness by the works of the law and not by faith, 
and therefore found it not, Rom. ix. 31, 32, vi. 7, 
who entered not into the rest prepared for them, 
by reason of their unbelief, Heb. iii. 18, 19, iv. 2, 
5, 8, from whom the kingdom of God was taken 
away, Matt. xxi. 43, they are they who shall say to 
Christ, l we have eaten and drunk before thee, and 
thou hast taught in our streets,' Luke xiii. 26, 
which could be said mly by the Jews." 1 

Various figures were employed by the Saviour, 
to represent the Jews as excluded from the bless- 
ings of the Gospel. They were said to be cast into 

i Com. and Armot. on Matt, viii, 11, 12. 



102 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Gehenna, — their last state was worse than the first 
— they were the tares that were bound in bundles 
and burned — the bad that were cast away when 
the net was drawn on shore — and those east into 
outer dark iess at the wedding least. All these fig- 
ures were employed to represent them, as left in 
the darkness of ignorance, and suffering the most 
grievous punishments, while others entered into 
the kingdom of God,~ and had rest. The Bible 
does, however, teach us, that they shall at last all 
know God. Paul repeatedly declared this fact. 
"Jill Israel shall be saved," Rom. xi. 26. " All shall 
know me from the least to the greatest," Heb. viii. 
11. The parable under consideration had no refer- 
ence to the eternal state of the Jews, their condi- 
tion in immortality ; but described the great and 
leading feature in their history, which occupies so 
prominent a place in all the parables, their rejec- 
tion and destruction at the time heaven gave them 
up, the victims of their own wickedness, and of the 
wrath of the Roman armies. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 103 

Parable of the Supper. 

LUKE XIV. 16—24. 

" A certain niiri mzde a great supper , and bade many : And 
sent his servant at supper time, to say to them that icere bidden. 
Come, for all things are now ready. And they all with one con- 
sent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have 
bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it : I pray 
thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five 
yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee, have 
me excused. And another said, I have married a wife: and 
therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and shew- 
ed his lord these things. Then the master of the house, being 
angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and 
lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, 
and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is 
done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the 
lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highivays and hedges, 
and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I 
say unto you, That none of those men who were bidden, shall 
taste of my supper." 

This parable may be considered under the follow- 
ing heads : — 

1. What is signified by the u great supper ?" 

2. Who were those hidden to the supper ? 

3. Who were represented by u the poor, and 
the maimed, and the halt and the blind," bidden 
afterwards to the supper ? 

4. In what sense was it true that none of those 
first bidden should taste of the supper ? 

The parable forms a pai^t of a train of instructions 
which seem to have been drawn from the Saviour 
by a circumstance of trivial importance in itself. 
At t*hc commencement of the chapter we are in- 
formed, that Jesus ct went into the house of 



104 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sab- 
bath day." After mixing with the guests, he per- 
ceived that some were engaged in seeking out the 
chief places, that they might hold an honorable sta- 
tion at the repast. He, on another occasion, des- 
cribed the Pharisees as C( loving the uppermost 
rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the syna- 
gogues." — Matt, xxiii. 6. This circumstance led 
him to give the following judicious advice, record- 
ed in verses 8 — 1 1 : — -" When thou art bidden of 
any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest 
room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bid- 
den of him; And he that bade thee and him come 
and say to thee, Give this man place, and thou be- 
gin with shame to take the lowest room. But when 
thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest 
room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may 
say unto thee, u Friend, go up higher : then shalt 
thou have worship in presence of them that sit at 
meat with thee. For whosoever exaltetb 1 imself 
shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall 
be exalted." From the Pharisees who were en- 
gaged in choosing the chief places, Jesus turned to 
the man into whose house he had entered, and who 
had invited the distinguished men, viz : the u law- 
yers and Pharisees," of whom the company was 
composed. " When thou makest a dinner or a sup- 
per," said he ; addressing this man, u call not thy 
friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor 
thy rich neighbors ; lest they also bid thee again, 
and a recompence be made thee. But when thou 
makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, 
the blind ; And thou shalt be blessed : for they 
cannot recompence thee ; for thou shalt be recom- 
pensed at the resurrection of the just." — Verses 12 
— 14. At this one of the guests seems incidentally 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 105 

to have remarked, " Blessed is he that shall eat 
bread in the kingdom of God." The observation 
tended immediately to bring up to the mind of the 
Saviour the blessed gospel of that very kingdom ; 
so often represented by the Jewish prophets under 
the figures of bread, and of a feast; and of which 
the Jews had been invited to partake, both by Christ 
himself, and by his apostles. This gospel he set 
forth in the parable before us under the figure of a 
great supper. 

Before we proceed to a direct consideration of 
the parable, it will be proper for us to attend to a 
certain part of the context, which, in common with 
many other passages of the sac red writings, has, as 
we conceive, been grossly misapplied. We refer 
to the saying of Jesus to those whom he directed to 
call the poor, the maimed, tne lame and the blind, 
when they made a feast, instead of their rich neigh- 
bors. To induce them to comply with tins advice, 
he assured them that they should be blessed in so 
doing; for although the poor could not recompense 
them, they should be u recompensed at the resur- 
rection of the just.'" From this it has been sup- 
posed, that Jesus meant to teach the doctrine of 
recompense in the future state for the actions of this 
life. Before we yield implicit credence to sjuch an 
application of these words, let us inquire what real 
evidence they afford of the doctrine they are sup- 
posed to substantiate. Well then, it is said, " thou 
shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the 
just." And does not this mean, says the inquirer, 
that they shall be recompensed after the bringing 
up of the body from the grave, in what is common- 
ly calied the future life ? We answer, the words 
prove no such thing. If that notion be correct, it is 
not proved by these words. All the depuidance of 



106 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

tho-e who take the common view, is placed on the 
word -resurrection." If that word had not been 
there, no person ever would have thought of the 
usual application. For instance, suppose it had 
been said, thou shalt be recompensed at the deliver- 
ance of the just, would any person, from that cir- 
cu u>r nice, hive inferred the fact of a reco npense 
in t te future rfote ? No. sureiy. It is plain then that 
the sole stress is laid on the word resurrection ; and 
the recompense is referred to the future state oe- 
caiisc it is said it will be criven at the resurrection of 
the just Now in order to have it certain that the 
ids in question substantiate absolutely the doc- 
trine of recompense in the future state for the con- 
duct of men here on earth, it should be indisputable 
that the Greek word anastasis here rendered resur- 
rection, signifies in this instance, the bringing up 
of the body from the grave, or the quickening of 
man into life after his natural death. But is it in- 
disputable that this is the signification of the word 
in the instance before us : It is not — it is very far 
from beiuiZ indisputable. In substantiating what 
we here s i\\ we do not mean to furnish the reader 
With any other than orthodox authority. 

The Greek word CMStasit, generally translated 
resurrection, is derived, according to Park hurst, from 
tlie verb anisemi. which signifies to rise. He irives 
the word two shades of signification : 1st. %t A 
standing on the feet again, or rising, as opposed to 
falling. ' 2d. kt A rising or resurrection of the body 
from die grave.'' Thus then, according to the 
author, the word anabasis has two meanings, or 
rather applications. Rising, in opposition to falling, 
and rising, that is from the dead. Now it is a ques- 
tion of the highest importance, in regard to the 
passage under consideration, in which of these 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 107 

senses t'.ie word resurrection occurs ? And as we 
have shown that this word does not necessarily 
signify restoration to life after natural death, it is 
clear that the passage of itself alone, is no proof 
whatsoever of the doctrine of recompense in the 
future state of existence. Dr. Campbell, one of 
the most judicious critics thateverlived, says " the 
word anakdsi$, or rattier the phrase anastasis ton nek- 
ron, is indeed the common term, by which the res- 
urrection, properly so c died, is denominated in the 
New Testament; yet this is neither the only, nor 
the primitive import of the word anastasis. It de- 
notes simply being" raised from inactivity to action, 
or from obscurity to eminence, or a return to such 
a state, after an interruption. The verb anistemi 
has the like latitude of signification ; and both 
words are used in this extent by the writers of the 
New Testament as well as by the LXX. Agreea- 
bly therefore to the original import, rising lioma 
seat is properly termed anastasis, so is awaking out 
of sleep, or promction from an inferior condition." 1 
Here the Dr. assures us : that the common applica- 
tion of the word anastasis is not its only sense. 2 In 
regird to the words, u shalt be recompensed at the 
resurrection of the just," the argument in favor of 
recompense in the future state lor the actions of 
this life, is founded upon them precisely as though 
that were its only sense. But the Dr. says, 
that is so far from being the only, it is not the 

1 See note on Matt, xxii : 23. 

2 The same writer says, in Dis. vi : p. ii. Sec. 23 — «' Another 
mistake about the import of scriptural terms, is in the sense which 
has been given to the word '* anastasis." '1 hey confine it by a use 
derived merely from modern European tongues to that renovation 
which we call the reunion of the soul and body, and which is to lake 
place at the last day. I have shown in another place, that this is not 
always the sense oi the term in the New Testament. 



108 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

primitive sewse of the word. " It denotes simply be- 
ing raised from inactivity to action, or from obscurity 
to eminence, or a return to such a state after an 
interruption. 

To show that the criticisms of Parkhurst and 
Campbell are well founded, let us refer to the man- 
ner in which the word anastasis is employed in the 
scriptures. It occurs most frequently in application 
to that renovation which is to take place after natur- 
al death. But we sometimes find it in its primi- 
tive sense, signifying 1 a resurrection from inactivity 
to action, or from obscurity to eminence. See La- 
men, iii. 62. " The lips of those thai rose up against 
me, and their device against me all the day." 
Here the word in the Septuagint which is rendered 
rose up, is the same which occurs in the passage un- 
der consideration — " thou shalt be recompensed at 
the resurrection of the just:" they cannot now re- 
compense thee ; but thou shalt be recompensed 
when they are raised from inactivity to action, from 
obscurity to eminence, or when they return to such 
a state after interruption. See also Zeph. iii. 8. 
•'Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until 
the day that I rise up to the prey." Here the in- 
stance is precisely the same as in the last quoted 
passage. Luke ii. 34. These are the words of 
Simeon concerning Jesus Christ. " Behold, this 
child is set for the fall and rising again of many in 
Israel." The same word occurs in this passage. 
And what resurrection is referred to ? Not resur- 
rection from death in the literal sense, but a resur- 
rection from a depressed condition. There can be 
no question of this. And is not this the sense in 
which Jesus is called u the resurrection and the life?" 
"He that believeth in me," said Jesus, " though 
he were dead, yet shall he live." He shall be 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 1Q9 

raised from a state of inactivity to action, from ob- 
scurity to eminence, from moral death to moral life. 
By the help of these criticisms we arrive, we 
think, at the true sense of the word before us. 
Jesus was directing the people when they made 
feasts, to be careful not to forget the poor ; " call 
the poor, the maimed; the lame, the blind." He 
anticipates the objection of the Pharisees, who 
would say, but if I do this, how shall I be recom- 
pensed ? He assures them they shall not lose 
their recompense ; for although the poor could not 
recompense them, yet when these poor were rais- 
ed from inactivity to action, from obscurity to em- 
inence, or returned to such a state after an inter- 
ruption, then they should be recompensed. The 
meaning is plain. What Jesus spoke here is true 
as a general principle, besides perhaps being pecu- 
liarly applicable to the age in which he lived. The 
followers of Jesus then were poor, they were in a 
depressed condition. To encourage others to re- 
ceive and treat them with kindness, he frequent- 
ly declared that they should not lose their re- 
ward. If they gave his disciples a cup of cold wa- 
ter, he would receive it as done unto himself. In 
Mark ix. 41 — 48, where Jesus is speaking of the 
distinction that was to be made between his follow- 
ers, and his enemies, at the time of his coming to 
destroy the Jewish state, he says, u For whosoever 
6hall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, 
because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, 
he shall not lose his reward." At this time the 
Christians were to be exalted, raised from a low con- 
dition. Jesus bade them, when they saw the 
signs of the destruction of Jerusalem begin to come 
to pass, ' then lookup, and lift up your heads, for your 
redemption draweth nigh,' Luke xxi. 28. This was 



HO NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

c the resurrection of the just:' and, at that time, 
those who had done them favors were to be 
recompensed. Unless this is the proper sense 
we are unable to account for the reply made by 
one of the guests to Jesus, when he uttered the 
words. As soon as he had said, c thou shalt be 
recompensed at the resurrection of the just,' this 
guest remarked — u Blessed is he that shall eat 
bread in the kingdom of God" — an expression ter- 
t; inly that the Jews did not apply to a future state. 
At the time of the rescue of the church from her 
enemies a f , the coming of Christ, the kingdom of 
God was to come with power, Matt. xvi. 27, 28, Luke 
ix. 26, 27. This c resurrection of the just,' was to 
take place, at the coming of Christ, when the king- 
dom of God came with power; and hence, when 
Jesus spake of it, it called up to the mind of the 
guest, that kingdom of God. And that Jesus un- 
derstood this guest, as speaking of his gor pel king- 
dom, which was to be fully established, is evident, 
because he immediately proceeded to speak of his 
gospel under the figure of a supper; and to describe 
the final rejection of the Jews and the conversion 
of the Gentiles, all which was accomplished at the 
time to which we have referred the passage. 

But the passage we are examining is true also as 
embracing a general principle. If we f tvor the 
poor and distressed with our kind offices, when 
they rise they will recompense us. And if they are 
just, they will rise. God will crown their exertions 
with success, and enable them to repay their ben- 
efactors for the blessings they had bestowed. By 
this rational interpretation, we avoid the heathen 
notion of recompensing men in one state of being 
for the conduct they do in another. Of all reveries 
this is the wildest. It is as rational as to suppose 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 1U 

that a field of grain sowed in one quarter of the 
world shall be reaped in another. 

The parable of the Supper is very similar to one 
which we find in Matt. xxii. 2 — 10. In the one 
case the scene is laid at supper, in the other at a 
wedding'. In both cases those that were first bid- 
den refused to attend, and went their way to en- 
gage in the secular pursuits of life. In both cases 
also, after those who were first invited had refused 
attendance, the servants were sent into the high 
places to gather together whomsoever they should 
find. The punishment denounced on those who 
were first invited and refused, was, in the one case, 
that they should not taste of the supper; in the 
other, that they should be destroyed by the armies 
of the king, who were to u burn up their city." 

1 What is signified by the " great supper?" 
There will be but little question, we think, th^t by 
the great supper is represented the gospel. There 
is no figure of more frequent occurrence in the 
scriptures than that of food to represent the gospel: 
Isaiah describes it as ct a feast of fat things, a feast 
of wines on the less well refined." Isaiah xxv : 6. 
So in the language of earnest entreaty and expos- 
tulation, the same prophet says, " Ho, every one 
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that 
hath no money ; come ye, buy and eat : yea come, 
buy wine and milk without money, and without 
price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that 
which is not bread, and your labor for that which 
satisfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto me, and 
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight 
itself in fatness." Iv :1,2. Jesus pursues the same 
figure when he says, " For the bread of God is he 
who cometh down from heaven andgiveth life unto 
the world." His disciples say to him, " Lord, ever- 



112 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

mere give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, 
I am the bread of life: he that eometh to me 
shall never thirst." John vi : 33 — 35. Again says 
Jesus, " I am that bread of life ;" 48 — " I ain the liv- 
ing bread which came down from heaven;' 51. 
When he came to explain the figure, and show what 
he meant by saying he was the bread of life, and by 
urging mankind to eat his flesh and drink his blood, 
he said, " the flesh proHteth nothing;" that is to 
say, meat literally speaking, profiteth nothing in a 
moral point of view ; I am not to be understood in 
the literal sense ; I am setting forth the virtue of my 
doctrine under these similitudes : " the words 
that I speak unto you. they are spirit and they are 
life :" it is from my gospel, after all, that you are to 
derive the spiritual life of which I have been speak- 
ing, ver. 63. From these observations we think it 
will appear, that it was a custom with the Saviour 
to represent his gospel under the similitude of food, 
which was the life of the body, as the words of 
Christ were the life of the soul. " Under the image 
of an invitation to a feast," says Kenrick on Matt, 
xxii. 2, u Christ represents the offer of the gospel to 
the Jews. This contained the choicest blessings 
God had to bestow, and might be fitly compared to 
the dainties of a feast upon the most joyful occa- 
sion ; the marriage of a son." 

2. Who were those first bidden to the supper ? 
They were unquestionably the Jews, It was the 
appointment of heaven, that this nation first of all 
should be invited to receive the gospel of the Son 
of God. When the twelve were sent forth to 
preach the kingdom of heaven, Jesus explicitly di- 
rected them to go not into the way of the Gentiles, 
nor enter into a! y city uf the Samaritans ; but 
< ( go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. \\§ 

Matt. x. 5, 6. This is a direct confirmation of the 
application we have made of the parable before us. 
The Jews were first bidden to the gospel feast. 
"I am not sent," said Christ, " but unto the lost 
sheep of the house of Israel." Matt. xv. 24. The 
command to preach tbe gospel to the other nations 
Jesus did not give until after his resurrection. 
Mark xvi. 15. Paul said to his brethren the Jews, 
on a certain occasion when they bitterly opposed 
the doctrines he taught, " It was necessary that the 
word of God should first have been spoken to you : 
but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves 
unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the 
Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, 
saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gen- 
tiles, that thou shouldst' be for salvation unto the 
ends of the earth." Acts xiii, 46, 47. The same 
eminent apostle, after having addressed his coun- 
trymen whom he found in the city of Rome, and 
perceived that they made light of his instructions, 
spake plainly to them as follows : " Be it known, 
therefore, unto you, that the salvation of God is 
sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it." 
Acts xxviii. 28. That the Jews made light of the 
invitations of the gospel, is indisputable ; and that 
for the most frivolous reasons and pretences they 
excused themselves from attending to the instruc- 
tions of Christ and his apostles, is equally evident. 
One had bought a piece of ground, another five 
yoke of oxen, and a third had married a wife — 
these are their excuses as represented in the 
parable. 

3. Who were represented by " the poor, and the 
maimed, and the halt and the blind," bidden after- 
wards to the supper ? We answer, the Gentile na- 
8 



H4 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

tions. They were universally regarded as poor, 
and despicable by the Jews. In the parable of the 
Rich Man and Lazarus, the Gentiles are represent- 
ed by a beggar, full of sores, who fed on the crumbs 
that fell from the rich man's table. Luke xvi. 20, 
21. The Gentiles, in a moral point of view, were 
truly poor. They were " without Christ, aliens 
from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from 
the covenants of promise, without hope and with- 
out God in the world." Ephes. ii. 12. It cannot 
be disputed, that the Gentiles were invited to re- 
ceive the gospel on its being rejected by tiie Jews. 
This fact we have already proved. See Acts xiii. 
46, 47. Peter was one of the servants sent out 
into the streets and highways to invite the Gen- 
tiles to the " great supper" of the gospel. He at 
first was unprepared to go ; but by the vision of the 
vessel let down from heaven, God instructed him 
to call no man common nor unclean, and taught 
him that to the Gentiles was granted repentance 
unto life. He went through all places, inviting the 
poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind, to accept 
the gospel of Christ. Paul also preached the gos- 
pel to the Gentiles. So far as it was possible for 
one man to do it, he went through " all the world, 
preaching the gospel to every creature." In the 
language of the parable, he went into the streets 
and lanes of cities, and the highways and hedges 
of the country. At Athens he disputed in the 
market place daily with them that met him. This 
work of inviting the Gentiles to embrace the gos- 
pel is not yet done. The heralds of the cross are 
still inviting mankind to receive the bread of ever- 
lasting life, to eat that which is good, and to let 
their souls delight themselves in fatness ; and these 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 115 

means we are assured will continue to be exercis- 
ed, " until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." 
But, 

4. In what sense was it true, that none of those 
who were first bidden should partake of the supper? 
We have here arrived at a point of our inquiries, 
that will be regarded probably with particular in- 
terest. Those who believe in endless misery have 
long used this circumstance under consideration to 
prove that some of the human race will finally be 
cast out from the favor of God, and not be permit- 
ted to taste the blessings of his love forever and 
ever. A sentiment so dishonorary to the character 
of God, and fatal to the hopes and happiness of 
men, should not be received on slight evidence. 
Let us examine then, the evidence which the para- 
ble before us is supposed to furnish of the truth of 
that doctrine Those who were first bidden to the 
supper, and refused attention to the request, and 
of whom it is said, u none of those men who were 
bidden shall taste of my supper," must be lost for- 
ever, according to the usual application of the para- 
ble. But did Jesus mean to teach any such doc- 
trine ? Did he who said, a I am not sent but to the 
lost sheep of the house of Israel," mean to teach 
that those "lost sheep" never would be restored? 
We think not. Did he mean to teach, that the 
Jews who were first bidden to the supper of the 
gospel, must be lost and miserable forever ? It does 
not seem reasonable to us. Indeed, we know that 
cannot have been his meaning. If we never should 
succeed in ascertaining positively what was the 
meaning of the Saviour, we do know positively what 
it was not : he did not mean to declare the endless 
misery of the Jewish nation, nor of any part of that 
nation. Is it reasonable that the dear Saviour who 



11 (J NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

said, " if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw 
all men unto me,' John xii. 32 — "all that the 
Father hath given me shall come to me, and him 
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out;" John 
vi. 37 — Is it reasonable that he meant to be under- 
stood as teaching the eternal exclusion of the Jews 
from his gospel kingdom ? Was it not the covenant 
of God in relation to these very people, " I icill put 
my laws into their mind, and write them in their 
hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall 
be to me a people ; and they shall not teach every 
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, say- 
ing, Know the Lord, for all shall know me, from 

THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST?'' Jere. XXXI. 33, 34. 

Heb. viii. 10, 11. To know God is eternal life; 
John xvii. 3, and if they are all to know him with- 
out exception, u from the least to the greatest" — 
will any be eternally excluded from the blessings 
of the gospel? If the opinion of the apostle Paul 
is to be relied on in this case, that question must 
be answered in the negative. In his epistle to the 
Romans, this eminent servant of Jesus Christ, pur- 
sues a luminous course of argument to prove the 
salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. Drawing to- 
wards the close of that subject he says, " For I 
would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of 
this mystery (lest ye should be wise in your own 
conceits) that blindness in part is happened to 
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 
And so all Israel shall be saved." Rom. xi. 26. 
This appears to settle the question. Here it is said 
in regard to those people who were first invited to 
the supper, and did not come, and of whom it was 
declared u none of those men shall taste of my sup- 
per" — that they shall " all be saved." We say the 
question is settled, Jesus did not mean to teach 
that the Jews would finally he lost. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. H7 

The sense of the parable before us is, in our 
opinion, clear. Those who were bidden to the 
supper and refused, did not taste of it, not one of 
them — they were cast into outer darkness, where 
was wailing and gnashing of teeth. Blindness 
happened to them ; they had eyes but they saw 
not. They were sunk in the darkness of unbelief; 
but God concluded them in unbelief only that u he 
might have mercy upon all." Rom. xi. 32. 

Here we see then, that the gospel which Jesus 
preached by himself and with his apostles, and 
more particularly the opportunity he furnished men 
of embracing the gospel when he labored personal- 
ly on earth, preaching and working miracles in his 
Father's name, is compared to the supper. The 
servants of God first invited the Jews to the feast. 
They refused, missed the first opportunity and 
were miserably destroyed — yet they shall eventu- 
ally be saved, even fhmi the least unto the greatest 
of them. The servants of God next went into the 
highways, and invited the poor Gentiles ; they no 
longer confined themselves to Jcdea, but went 
through all the world, preaching the gospel. So it 
was ordained in the order of Providence, the Gen- 
tiles were first to be converted and afterward the 
Jews. Thus Paul saith to the Gentiles, "For as 
ye (Gentiles) in times past have not believed God, 
yet have now obtained mercy through their unbe- 
lief; even so have these (Jews) also now not be- 
lieved, that through your mercy they also may ob- 
tain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in 
unbelief, that he might have mercv upon all." Rom. 
xi. 30—32. 



118 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Parables of Counting the Cost. 

LUKE XIV. 28—30. 

*' For which of you, intending to build a tower , sitteth not 
down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to 
finish it. Lest haply after he hath laid the foundation, and is 
not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Say- 
ing, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.** 
VERSES 31, 32. 

"Or what king, going to make war against another king, sit- 
teth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten 
thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty 
thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he 
sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace." 

We have often had occasion to notice in this 
volume, that many of the injunctions and precepts 
of our Lord, as well as his parables, sprung out of 
the occasion, and had reference to present objects 
and circumstances. The parables now before us, 
are an instance of the truth of this remark, and a 
proof of the readiness with which he conceived 
his beautiful images, 

After Jesus had spoken the parable of the Sup- 
per we are informed, " there went great multitudes 
with him," ver. 25, who had probably been attract- 
ed by his preaching, and the report of his wonder- 
ful works, and who, therefore, manifested some 
disposition to become his disciples, He said unto 
them, u if any man come to me, and hate not his 
father, and mother, and wife, and children, and 
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he 
cannot be my disciple," ver. 26; "and whosoever 
doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. HQ 

be my disciple," ver. 27. These were the terms 
of disei^leship in the primitive age ; but they hav6 
been grossly misunderstood, by a perversion of the 
idioms which are found in the passage. Jesus did 
not intend that a man should actually hate his fath- 
er, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, and 
himself also — this would have been impossible, for 
the apostle says, "no man ever yet hated his own 
flesh," Eph. v. 29. To hate in this instance signi- 
fies merely to love in a less degree ; and hence in 
a similar passage we read, " he that loveth father 
or mother more than me, and he that loveth son or 
daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Matt. 
x. 37. When it is said, Rom. ix. 13 "Jacob have 
I loved, but Esau have I hated," the meaning evi- 
dently is, I have loved Jacob more than Esau ; and 
that this is no arbitrary interpretation of the word 
hate, but one agreeable to the Hebrew idiom, is 
evident from Gen. xxix. 30, 31, where we read, 
" he loved also Rachel more than Leah ; and when 
the Lord saw that Leah was hated," &c. Here it 
is evident hatred signifies a less degree of love. 
See also Deut. xxi. 15 — 17. Something resembling 
what Jesus here teaches, is said by Philo concern- 
ing the duty of the Jewish high priest ; that he was 
to estrange himsetf from all his relations, and not, out of 
love to his parents, his children, or brethren, to omit any 
part of his duty, or act in any thing contrary to it. 1 Cru- 
cifixion was one of the most infamous, as well as 
cruel punishments, inflicted by theRomans andJews. 
Hence the cross came to be used metaphorically for 
all ki! ds of evils; to bear the cross therefore, and 
come after Christ, is to expose ourselves with for- 
titude to the greatest evils in his cause. 2 

I See Bp. Pearce on Luke xiv. 26. 
* Kenrick Expos, on the passage. 



120 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

After having* laid down these conditions of dis- 
cipleship, Jesus proceeds to illustrate the necessity, 
that those who intended to hecome his followers, 
should estimate the pains, privations and dangers 
to which it would expose them, that they might 
enter into his kingdom fully aware of these evils, 
lest they should grow faint and weary, and be at 
last persuaded to abandon him. For this purpose 
he spoke the two parables, now before us. The 
man who professed Christ, with a full apprehen- 
sion of the opposition it would call down upon him, 
was like a person, who intending to build a tower? 
sat down first and counted the cost, whether he 
had sufficient to finish il ; while those who profess- 
ed him, without a calculation of these circum- 
stances, was like the man who went heedlessly on, 
and after he had laid the foundation, was not able 
to finish the tower, and whom others mocked, say- 
ing, ' this man began to build, and was not able to 
finish. 5 So, to apply the other parable, the man 
who professed Christ without weighing all the 
consequences, was like the king who went to war 
w 7 ith another king, sitting not down first and con- 
sulting whether he was able with ten thousand 
men to meet him that came against him twenty 
thousand, vvho, while the other was yet a great 
way off, sent an ambassage, and desired conditions 
of peace. 

No one can fail to notice the frankness and hon- 
esty of Jesus, in pointing out to those who proposed 
to become his disciples, the privations, difficulties 
and dangers with which they must inevitably meet. 
In this particular he always dealt fairly and openly 
with mankind. He did not promise them worldly 
ease, riches or honors, but, on the other hand, 
pain, poverty, disgrace and death. He plainly fore- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 121 

warned them that their lives must be a secondary 
consideration in his service, and that, under all 
these disadvantages, their love to the cause of 
truth must be greater than their love to any thing 
else on earth. And even, when he saw people, 
'great multitudes,' following him, with the intent 
to become his disciples, he checked them, and 
pointed out the sacrifices they would be compelled 
to make ; and by the help of two interesting para- 
bles, the application of which they saw full well, 
he showed them, if they professed his name with- 
out a full apprehension of the consequences, they 
would finally abandon him, and become the sport 
and derision of mankind. Every thing here con- 
vinces us that Jesus was not an imposter — that he 
was not disposed to deceive mankind — that he nev- 
er excited false hopes and illusive expectations. 
How many pretended reformers and false prophets 
have deceived their followers with hopes of gain 
they never realized, and of happiness they never 
experienced. But on the other hand, the Saviour 
told his followers they should not lose their reward 
for their devotion to the cause of truth. The con- 
solation of truth upon their hearts, and the appro- 
bation of their consciences, were a recompense 
which the world could neither give nor take away. 
In that unbelieving age, these internal joys were 
the only rewards they would possess, amid the 
rage and persecution of their enemies ; but, in a 
short time, their enemies were to be overthrown, 
and then they should be delivered from persecu- 
tion, and enjoy peace. 

The attentive observer will not fail to remark 
moreover, that Jesus would not recommend to his 
followers, what he had neglected himself. Did he 
tell them to forsake all earthly considerations for 



122 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the cause of truth ? He had done the same. Did 
he tell them to bear their cross and follow him ? 
He was willing to bear the cross. He surrendered 
his life, an offering for the benefit of mankind. 
Did he tell them to make all necessary calculations 
on the difficulties and dangers to be met ? He had 
done the same. He knew the power o\ the enemy, 
the cost and sacrifices necessary to vanquish him, 
and with a fall understanding of all means of oppo- 
sition to him, he entered on the work of saving 
mankind. Before he began c he sat down and 
counted the cost.' He never will send the adver- 
sary proposals of peace. He will accomplish the 
work he came to do. This work as every Christian 
will acknowledge, is the salvation of mankind. He 
came to seek and to save that which was lost ; and 
if all mankind were lost, he came to save them all. 
It is the will of God that all men shall be saved, 
and come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim. ii. 
4 ; and this will Jesus came to perform. " Lo I 
come to do thy will, God." Heb. x. 7. Did Je- 
sus here commence a work which he will not per- 
form ? Has he laid the foundation ? and yet will 
he not be able to finish it ? If so, he is obnoxious 
to his own reproofs, and therefore doubly worthy 
of the derision of mankind. But he will perform 
the work he came to do. " The pleasure of the 
Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the 
travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." Isaiah 
liii. 10, 11. 

" He will accomplish his design, 
And all things in himself combine ; 
No more shall ever they rebel, 
Christ Jesus will do all things well.'* 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 123 

Parable of the tost Sheep. 

LUKE XV. 4—6. 

" What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of 
them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and 
go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath 
found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he 
cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, say- 
ing unto them, Rejoice with me; for J have found my sheep 
which was lost." 

This parable, with the two that immediately 
succeed it, were called forth from the Saviour, by 
the conduct of the Scribes and Pharisees. In the 
first verse of this chapter we are informed, that 
'all the publicans and sinners drew near unto Jesus 
to hear him. 7 This class of people felt an uncom- 
mon interest in his instructions. He was the 
friend of publicans and sinners ; he ate and drank 
with them ; his doctrine was adapted to their cir- 
cumstances, and satisfied their wants ; hence one 
of the evangelists has recorded, that 4 the common 
people heard him gladly.' Mark xii. 37. The pub- 
licans were the collectors of customs, and other 
taxes, which were exacted of the Jewish nation by 
the Roman government. Because the Jews gener- 
ally looked on this exaction as a burden, and a sign 
of bondage, they had a very bad opinion of these 
publicans, and associated with their characters 
every thing that was disagreeable ; and it being 
more than probable that the greater part of them 
were Gen'.iles, to whom the Jews had a strong 
aversion, they regarded them as sinners unworthy 
of the divine favor. When the publicans and sin- 



124 NOTES ON THE PARABLE?. 

ner? drew near to Jesus to listen to his instructions, 
as he did not forbid them, " the Scribes and Phari- 
sees murmured saying, this man receiveth sinners 
and eateth with them ; M ver. 2. i e. he conde- 
scends to the utmost familiarity with them. This 
was one of the principal objections, which they had 
to bring against Jesus Christ. See Matt. ix. 11. 
Mark ii. 16. Luke v. 30 and xix. 7. Now ir 
to answer this objection — to acknowledge the 
charge which the Pharisees brought against him, 
and justify his conduct in this particular, as well as 
to point out the selfrighteousness, and unholy spir- 
it of the Pharisees, that Jesus uttered the three 
parables recorded in Luke xv. 

u ft i>;"." saith he. addressing himself 

to the Pharisees, "having an hundred sheep, if he lose 
ccth not leave the ninety and nine in the 
id go after that which is lest until he find it? 1 
The argument with 1 he Phari>ees was this : you 
think a sheep ir sufficiently valuable, if it go astray, 
to be looked after by the owner — yes. he will leave 
the ninety and nine it lite wilderness, and so after 
the one which is lost until he find it. When he 
hath found it. he iayeth it on his shoulders rejoic- 
ing. And to share this joy with others, he called 
together his friends and neighbors, saying rejoice 
with me. lor I have found my sheep which was lost. 
Now. Pharisees, if a beast is thus valuable, of 
how much more value is man ? And if you would 
make all this exertion to regain a stray sheep to 
your fold, how necessary is it that I should labor 
to bring mankind to the fold of God ? This is the 
work i came into the world to do. And as the 
good shepherd would follow the lost sheep, and not 
hesitate to take it on his shoulders to bring it home, 
so I must not decline to recehe sinners aud eat 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 125 

with them. They are the lost sheep whom I came 
to restore ; and I seek them, and receive them, and 
condescend to associate with them, that I may- 
win them to myself. And as you rejoice when the 
lost sheep is found, so ' I say unto you that joy 
shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth 
more than over ninety and nine just persons which 
need no repentance. 5 Here Jesus reproved the 
Pharisees with great severity. In their worldly 
mindedness, if they lost a thing of small value, 
they would use the utmost pains to obtain it again; 
but they were very careless of the interests of their 
fellow creatures, who they were willing should 
remain in darkness and sin, and with whom they 
could hold no connexion. 

When Jesus spoke of just persons, who needed 
no repentance, he refered to the Pharisees, not 
indeed to acknowledge that they were really just 
and holy, and needed no repentance, but to spea,k 
of them according to their views of themselves, 
and avail himself of those views to justify his con- 
duct. That they thought themselves to be holy, 
is evident from the parable of the Pharisee and 
publican, wherein the former thanked God that he 
was not like other men, Luke xviii. 11. If they 
thought themselves thus holy, as Jesus came to 
save sinners, there was no need, as they in that 
case must grant, that he should seek them and as- 
sociate with them, any more than that they should 
seek a sheep which was not lost. On another oc- 
casion Jesus used a different figure, but not less 
striking. " They that are whole have no need of 
the physician, but they that are sick," which he 
explains by adding, u I came not to call the right- 
eous but sinners to repentance." Mark ii. 17. As 
there was no need that the physician should visit 



126 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

those who are in health, so there was no need that 
Jesus should visit the righteous ; and if the Phari- 
sees were really righteous, then he had not come to 
call them to repentance. This was spoken solely 
in reference to their views of themselves, and not 
to acknowledge them as possessing true righteous- 
ness, in which it is certain they were very defi- 
cient. When Jesus said. c * joy shall be in heaven 
over one sinner that repenteth, 1 more than over 
ninety and nine just persons, which need no re- 
pentance." the object was merely to express, how 
desirable it was that sinners should be converted ; 
and that such a circumstance was sweater cause of 
joy. than though there had actually been ninety 
and nine just persons who needed not repentance. 
As the other parables in the chapter, are precisely 
of the same strain with this, and spoken for the 
same objects, we may pass to the consideration of 
them, without a more particular attention here. 

i This passage is not very favorable to the doctrine, that the in- 
habitants of heaven will derive their principal joys from beholding 
the miseries of the damned. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 127 

Parable of the Lost Piece of Silver* 

LUKE XV. 8, 9. 

"Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose 
one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and 
seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it 
she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Re- 
joice with me', for I have found the piece which I had lost." . 

The principle of this parable is precisely the 
same with that last examined, and the object in 
stating it was the same, viz. to justify the conduct 
of Christ in associating with publicans and sinners, 
and to convince the Pharisees, that if truly they 
were not in a ost state, there was no need of his 
seeking them. The solicitude of the woman to find 
the lost piece of silver, shows the strong interest 
with which Jesus labored for the salvation of man- 
kind : and as she did not abandon the search until 
she had found that which was lost, so we learn 
that he will not be satisfied till all those for whom 
he died, shall have been benefited by his mission. 
As this piece of silver belonged to the woman, so 
all mankind belong to Christ ; the Father loved 
him, and gave all things into his hands, John iii. 
35 ; and as the silver was valuable in itself, which 
caused the owner to prize it, so are mankind valu- 
able in the sight of their rightful owner. They 
are his " purchased possession ;" and he will final- 
ly gather them together in himself. Eph- i. 10, 14. 
The doctrine of total depravity, by which men have 
been represented as utterly vile and worthless, is 
not admissible under this view of the subject. Sil- 
ver may become tarnished, but the nature of it is 



128 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

not changed., even when its external appearance is 
at the worst ; there is always something intrinsic- 
ally valuable ; and Jesus would hardly have chosen 
this figure whereby to represent mankind in their 
lost state, had he entertained the same views 
which have been taken of human nature, by the 
perverted vision of his misguided followers. Man- 
kind were precious in his sight ; and u he is like a 
refiner's fire, and a fuller's soap ; and he shall set 
as a refiner and purifier of silver ; and he shall puri- 
fy the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and 
silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offer- 
ing in righteousness. Mai. iii. 2, 3. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 129 

Parable of the Prodigal Son. 

LUKE XV. 11—32. 

* ( A certain man had two sons : And the, younger of them 
said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that 
falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not 
many days after, the younger son gathered all together, and 
took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his sub- 
stance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there 
arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. 
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country ; 
and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would 
fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat ; 
and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he 
said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread 
enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger ! I will arise 
and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sin- 
ned against Heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy 
to be called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants. 
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a 
great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and 
ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said 
unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in thy 
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the 
father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it 
on him ; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet ; 
And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it ; and let us eat, 
and be merry : For this my son was dead, and is alive again ; 
he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. JVbio 
his elder son was in the field : and as he came and drew nigh 
to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one 
of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he 
said unto him, Thy brother is come ; and thy father hath killed 
the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. 

9 



130 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

And he was angry, and would not go in; therefore came his 
father out, and entreated him. And he, answering-, said to his 
father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgress- 
ed I at any time thy commandment ; and yet thou never gavest 
me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends : But as 
soon as this thy son ivas come, which hath devoured thy living 
with harlots, thau hast killed for him the fatted calf And he 
said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me ; and all that I have 
is thine- It was meet that we should make merry, and he glad: 
for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again ; and teas lost, 
and is found" 

This is one of the most striking and beautiful 
parables in the Bible, not only for its simplicity and 
delicatencss in every part, but for its adaptation 
to the subject which it was designed to illustrate, 
and for the severity of the reproof which it admin- 
istered to those who had murmured against Jesus 
because he associated with publicans and sinners. 
Some parts of the parable will be better under- 
stood, and appear with more force, if we take no- 
tice of those customs on which they were founded. 

The younger son required of his father the por- 
tion of goods that belonged to him, and the father 
readily bestowed them upon him. Adam Clarke 
has shown that u it has been an immemorial cus- 
tom in the East for sons to demand and receive 
their portion of the inheritance during the father's 
life time : and the parent, however aware of the 
dissipated inclinations of the child, could not legal- 
ly refuse to comply with the application. - " The de- 
sign of the law was to protect the child from ill- 
treatment on the part of the father ; but if it could 
be shown that the child had separated from the 
paternal mansion without just cause, he was subject 
to a heavy fine. 1 The young man immediately de- 

l Com. on the place. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 131 

parted unto a far country, and wasted his sub- 
stance in riotous living. He began to be in want, 
and went and joined himself to a citizen in that 
country, who put him to the menial employment of 
feeding swine. No Jew could see greater degra- 
dation than this. Among people of that nation, it 
was regarded as a great defilement to eat swine's 
flesh ; it must therefore have been deemed more 
dishonorable and odious to be engaged in the em- 
ployment of feeding these animals. He would fain 
have satisfied his hunger with the husks the swine 
eat. His extreme misery induced him to form the 
resolution to return to his father's house ; and 
when he came, the joyful parent ordered the best 
robe to be put upon him, a ring to be put upon his 
hand, and shoes on his'feet. He was received with 
every demonstration of welcome. The compli- 
ment of the ring denoted that the person was re- 
ceived to favor and honor ; thus Pharaoh took off 
his ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's, Gen. 
xli. 42, and Ahasuerus plucked off his ring and be- 
stowed it on Haman, Esther hi. 10, and afterwards 
on Mordecai, viii. 2. 

The object of this parable was the same with 
that of the two last, with this addition — Jesus here 
introduced the character of the Pharisee, and un- 
der the figure of the elder son he exhibited it, strip- 
ped of all its deception. The circumstance that 
called forth the three parables in Luke xv. should 
not be forgotten. When the publicans and sinners 
drew near to Jesus to listen to his instructions, and 
he did not forbid them, the Scribes and Pharisees 
expressed their astonishment in the strongest 
terms, and murmured even that he should receive 
sinners and eat with them. In the parables of the 
lost sheep, and lost piece of silver, as we have 



132 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

shown, Jesus illustrated the propriety of his con- 
duct, and convinced the Pharisees that, if they 
were as righteous as they judged themselves, there 
was no reason why he should seek their society, as 
they stood not in need of any assistance from him. 
In the parable before us, by painting, in a masterly 
manner, the misery into which sin plunges man- 
kind, he showed them that sinners were objects of 
pity, not of scorn ; and by contrasting the hatred 
and anger of the elder son with the joy felt by all 
the rest of the family at the prodigal's return, he 
developed in the clearest light, the misanthropic 
disposition of the Pharisees. The parable is car- 
ried along with great judgment, until the repentant 
son has mingled with the family, and musick, feast- 
ing and dancing are put in requisition to denote the 
common joy. At this moment the elder son, who 
represented the Pharisees, is introduced. He 
draws nigh to the house, and hears musick and 
dancing. He calls one of the servants, and inquires 
what these things mean. The servant, as full of 
joy unquestionably as any other member of the 
household, and expecting to communicate the same 
joy to the inquirer that he felt himuelf, tells him 
that his brother has returned, and that his father hath 
killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him 
safe and sound. Now mark the Pharisee. Is he 
pleased ? Does he rush into the house, and seize his 
brother's hand, and bathe it in the tears of joy that 
he finds himself unable to repress ? No, far from 
this — he is angry, and will not go in. What is the 
matter ? What excites his anger ? Only this — the 
father hath seen fit to receive the sinner into favor, 
and he is displeased about it. He thinks sinners 
ought to be cast off furever, and experience no 
mercy. Well, his father comes out ; let us see 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 133 

how he manages his case. He says to his father, 
a lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither 
transgressed I at any time thy commandment, and 
yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make 
merry with my friends ; but as soon as this thy son 
[not my brother] was come, which hath devoured 
thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the 
fatted calf." Here the self-righteousness of the 
Pharisee appears. In his own estimation he has 
never done any thing wrong. This is his opinion 
of himself, but what is the fact ? The fact is he is 
now ooenly violating his father's commands, who 
requires him to love his neighbor as himself. But 
he hates his brother, and is angry because the fa- 
ther, more merciful than himself, has received him 
into favor. Why did he never think to complain 
before ? Not a word of fault previously to this had 
ever fallen from his lips. The fact is, he never saw 
any reason to complain until others were treated as well 
as he. So long as he enjoyed his father's bounty 
alone, and the prodigal was far away suffering in 
sin, he felt contented and happy ; but the moment 
the father shows the least kindness to any person 
besides himself, then he is angry, and will not go 
in. This was the real disposition of the Pharisees. 
Why did they murmur against Christ ? Because 
" he received sinners, and ate with them," ver. 2. 
But let us examine this elder son a little more close- 
ly. He says his father never gave him a kid that 
he should make merry with his friends. What ! is 
this true ? Did not his father divide his goods with 
the children ? ver. 12 ; and did not the father say, 
1 son, thou art ever wiih me, and all that I have is 
thine' ? ver. 31. It seems then that Pharisees can 
utter falsehoods, holy as they think themselves. 
The father closes the scene by asserting the pro- 



134 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

priety of his conduct. i It was meet that we should 
make merry and be glad ; for this thy brother was 
dead and is alive again ; and was lust, and is found." 
If the Pharisees to whom these parables were 
originally delivered, had any sensibility whatso- 
ever, they must have felt the force of the rebuke 
which was here so adroitly administered. 

The spirit of the Pharisees is the same in every 
age of the world ; and we are sorry to say, that 
we perceive much of it among mankind now. If 
we tell some persons that God will at last receive 
all his prodigal children to his kingdom, they are 
exceedingly displeased ; they cannot endure such 
doctrine. They do not complain, if we say that 
they themselves are to enjoy God forever ; this 
they believe ; but nothing will excite their anger 
more quickly, than to tell them that all mankind 
at last shall fare as well as they. They sometimes 
inform us, that they do not wish to go to heaven, 
if all mankind are to enter there. In that case 
they will be anorry, and will not go in. They will 
complain, if this doctrine is true, that they have 
not been treated as veil as they ought to have 
been ; but if they can have the glorious satisfaction 
of knowing that those whom they hate are cast off 
forever, they are then satisfied. 

The parable before us furnishes many rich doc- 
trinal reflections — it sets forth the conduct of God 
towards his erring children. Witness first the mis- 
ery into which sin plunged the prodigal, and con- 
trast it with the happiness of his father's house ; 
then you will know wnat sufferings press upon the 
sinner, when compared with the peace and conso- 
lation of the virtuous heart. That doctrine which 
we sometimes hear, that sinners often are happy in 
their sins, while the righteous are afflicted and dis- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 135 

tressed ; and that it will be necessary to establish 
retributions in the future world in order to make 
up for these apparent imperfections of divine Prov- 
idence in this, will find no countenance in this par- 
able. The sinner is represented as suffering ex- 
ceedingly in his sins, and his sufferings induced his 
return to his father's house. As many contend that 
men have lost the image of God by their transgress- 
ions, it is proper to inquire whether the prodigal 
lost the image of his father during his absence ? 
No, the father saw him a great way off, and knew 
him, and rushed out to meet him, and fell on his 
neck, and kissed him. The father saw his image 
in the child — it was not lost. We sometimes hear, 
that it was necessary for Christ to die, in order to 
make God compassionate, and open a way where- 
by he could be just, and forgive sinners. Does Je- 
sus give any countenance to this doctrine, in the 
parable before us ? What victim bled to create 
compassion in the father's heart ? None, the fa- 
ther never was destitute of compassion. He loved 
his son before he went astray, he loved him while 
he was astray, and, when he saw him a great way 
off, he had compassion upon him, and demonstrat- 
ed that compassion by the strongest evidences. It 
has been declared frequently, that mankind, while 
in a state of sin, are not the children of God. This 
notion is certainly contradicted by the parable. 
The prodigal was a son while afar off, and he recol- 
lected that he had a father, and this recollection in- 
duced his return to his father's house. " I will 
arise, and go to my Father." It was not necessa- 
ry to threaten him with any greater misery than 
that which he actually suffered, to create in him 
the resolution to return. It is not reasonable to 
suppose he would have returned at all, had he be- 



136 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

lieved his father was his enemy, and that it would 
be necessary for his brother to die in order to ap- 
pease his father's wrath. The conversion of this 
prodigal was not a change of nature ; it was merely a 
change of purpose, and inclinations, and this not by 
any special agency of God's spirit, but by the influ- 
ence of the circumstances by which he felt himself 
controlled. He was made wiser by experience ; 
this wisdom induced a wiser course of conduct; and 
such was his conversion. These are some of the 
reflections which naturally occur in reading the 
parable. 

We cannot fail to remark, that every thing in 
this parable is calculated to have an excellent in- 
fluence on morals — every thing encourages virtue, 
and discountenances vice : and so we may say of 
our Lord's parables in general. On all occasions, 
wherever he was, whether speaking in figure, or 
without, the direct tendency of his instructions was 
to induce love to God and man — to foster tender 
emotions, pity, compassion, charity — to beget hu- 
mility and meekness in the heart— and to discoun- 
tenance pride, ostentation, hypocrisy, arrogance 
and hatred. In fine, on such amoral teacher as 
Jesus, the world will never look again. For his 
knowledge of the human heart, for his wisdom in 
difficult circumstances, for the simplicity and true 
sublimity of his parables; for his power to expose 
wickedness before the eyes of those who practised 
it, for the influence of his instructions, atid above 
all of his life itself, our Lord stands, and ever must 
stand unrivalled, throughout all the world, 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 137 



Parable of the Unjust Steward. 

LUKE XVI. 1—8. 

*' And he said also unto his disciples. There was a certain rich 
man which had a steward ; and the same was accused unto him 
that he had toasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto 
him, How is it that 1 hear this of thee ?■ give an account of thy 
stewardship : for thou may est be no longer steward. Then the 
steward said within himself What shall I do 7 for my lord 
taketh away the stewardship : I cannot dig ; to beg I am 
ashamed. I am resolved ivhat to do, that when I am put out of 
the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he 
called every one of his lord's debtors unto him. and said unto the 
first, How much owest thou unto my lord ? And he said, A 
hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, 
and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to anoth- 
er, And how much owest thou? And he said, A hundred meas- 
ures of wheat, And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write 
four-score. And the lord commended the unjust steward, be- 
cause he had done wisely : for the children of this world are in 
their generation reiser than the children of light." 

This parable is a part of the chain of parables, 
which extends from the beginning of the fifteenth to 
the end of the sixteenth chapter of Luke. These all 
seem to have been drawn from the Saviour by the 
objections brought against him by the Pharisees, 
that he received sinners, and ate with them. The 
principal design of the parable of the prodigal son, 
was to shew in how high an estimation the Jews, 
particularly the Pharisees, regarded themselves ; 
and that from this vain conceit of their own abili- 
ties and righteousness, sprung up their hatred 
of the common people, and of the Gentile nations. 



138 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

The parable of the unjust steward was designed to 
correct this opinion, and to shew them, that how much 
soever they thought of their own wisdom in religious things, 
they were not in fact so wise about those things, an people of 
the world generatly are about temporal concerns. 

A certain man had a steward, and he was accus- 
ed unto him of wasting his goods. For this reason 
he was called to render in an account of his stew- 
ardship, as he was about to be removed from his 
office. He had nothing to reply to the charge 
brought against him, and therefore considered what 
he should do for himself when he was discarded. 
" What shall I do," saith he, u for my lord taketh 
away from me the stewardship ? I cannot dig, to 
beg I am ashamed." As he was not yet put out of 
office, he resolved to make use of the power with 
which he was entrusted to secure a retreat among 
his master's tenants, when dismissed from his ser- 
vice. " I am resolved what to do, that when I am 
put out of the stewardship, they (his master's ten- 
ants) may receive me into their houses." The 
plan he proposed, was to cocfer some essential ad- 
vantages on the tenants, that he might thereby lay 
them under obligations to him, which neither from 
motives of gratitude or interest, they would desire 
to violate. The accounts he had kept for his mas- 
ter he had in his possession, and he called oft the 
debtors to bring in their accounts. He said unto 
the first, u how much owest thou unto my lord ?" 
The debtor replies, u a hundred measures of oil." 
These tenants it appears were to pay their rents, 
not in money, but in wheat and oil, and the other 
products' of the lands they hired. The steward di- 
rected him to alter his account, or lease perhaps, 
and say fifty ; by which expedient it appeared, that 
it was originally designed he should pay fifty only. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. ] 39 

He said to another, "how much owest thou ?" He 
answered, u a hundred measures of wheat." He 
directed him to take his bill, account, or lease, 
whichsoever it might be — for the Greek phrase to 
gramma signified any writing whatsoever — and write 
fourscore. These certainly were no small favors 
that he showed the tenants, and might well dispose 
them to receive the steward afterwards into their 
houses. The parable closes with the observation, 
that u the lord commended the unjust steward, be- 
cause he had done wisely." 

Before we proceed to fix and illustrate the appli- 
cation of the parable, we wish to take notice of 
what we regard as a wrong interpretation of it, and 
clear the Saviour of a charge which has rashly been 
brought against him, of designing to countenance 
immorality. Some have infered, that God com- 
mended the conduct of the steward in defrauding 
his master, and recommended mankind to imitate 
him. But this is altogether an unjustifiable infer- 
ence. In the first place, the lord who commended 
the steward was his earthly master, the same 
spoken of in verses 3 and 5. Second, the idea kept 
up throughout the parable, is that the steward was 
actually unjust, and he is expressly said to be so, ver. 
8. No attempt is made to hide or extenuate his 
fault. Third; this servant was not commended for 
his injustice, but for his prudence in making ar- 
rangements for his maintenance after he was dis- 
missed from his master's employ. He is said to 
have done wisely, not in the particular of his in- 
justice — such a construction would be truly absurd 
— but in the circumstance of his foresight, and his 
calculations in regard to the future. He took the 
future into consideration, and made preparation for 
it ; and so far he was wise, and was commended ; 
but not for his injustice. 



140 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

What now, we may inquire, was the object 
of Jesus in uttering this parable? Ans. to shew 
the Scribes and Pharisees, whose character he had 
faithfully drawn in the parable of the prodigal, that 
although they felt proud of their moral attain- 
ments, and were generally regarded as the u chil- 
dren of light," yet in fact they were not so wise 
and prudent, as meu generally are, ii the manrge- 
ment of their secular concerns. The unjust stew- 
ard showed more wisdom in the provision he had 
made for the future, than they ever manifested. 
" The children of this world are wiser in their gene- 
ration than the children of light." They are here 
called the children of light for the same reason they 
are called the u children of the kingdom, " Matt, 
viii. 12. The Saviour then adds, ct Make to your- 
selves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, 
that, when ye fail, they may receive you into ever- 
lasting habitations." Here he directed those who 
listened to him, to follow the example of the unjust 
steward. It would have been better for the stew- 
ard if he had done his duty faithfully, and retained 
his stewardship ; but when he found he must loose 
it, he did the next best thing he could. So Jesus 
proposed to those to whom he was speaking the 
steward's example. If they were determined not 
to do what they ought, then let them do the next 
best thimr- If they would not embrace the gospel, 
then let them " make friends of the mammon of un- 
righteousness," or 4 uncertain riches, 1 as Kenrick 
renders the expression. Let them avail themselves 
of the law of Moses, and make a good use of that, 
which was well represented by ; uncertain riches' 
when compared with the c durable riches' of the 
gospel. And if they would make a wise and prudent 
use of the ; uncertain riches' of the law, and do as 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 141 

God and Moses commanded them in that institu- 
tion, they would be received into age-lasting taber- 
nacles, for this is certainly the better rendering 1 of 
tas aionious skenas — they would enjoy to the full all 
the comfort and shelter, if we may so speak, that 
the law could afford. This they never yet had 
done — they had made void the law of God by their 
traditions — and corrupted the institutions of Moses; 
and the benefit their law otherwise would have 
confered upon them, they had not enjoyed. This 
was the reason they did not receive the gospel, to 
which a right improvement of the law would natur- 
ally have led them. " He that is faithful in that 
which is least, is faithful also in much." Ver. 10. 
They had not been faithful in that which was least. 
"If, therefore, ye have not been faithful in the un- 
righteous mammon (uncertain riches) who will 
commit to your trust the true riches ?" Ver. 11. If 
you have not been faithful in your use of the law, 
you cannot receive the true and durable riches of 
the gospel. " If ye have not been faithful in that 
which is another man's, who shall give you that 
which is your own ?" Ver. 12. If you have re- 
sembled the unjust steward, who was unfaithful to 
his master, how can you expect to receive the gos- 
pel, which was specially designed for you, and pro- 
claimed to you before any other people upon the 
face of all the earth ? It was their pride and avarice 
that prevented them from rendering due obedience 
to the law of Moses, as well as to the gospel of Je- 
sus Christ ; and it was to this the Saviour refered, 
when he said, "ye cannot serve God and mam- 
mon." These two masters no man can serve, 
" for either he will hate the one and love the oth- 
er, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the 
other." Ver. 13. The Pharisees listened to these 



142 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

things with deep attention, and felt themselves se- 
verely rebuked by this reference to their covetous 
spirit ; and the consequence was that they derided 
Christ, ver. 14. To their hypocrisy, and disposi- 
tion to justify themselves, Jesus refers in ver. 15, 
i; ye are they which justify yourselves before men; 
but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is 
(sometimes; highly esteemed among men. is abomi- 
nation in the sight of God;" as though he had said, ye 
deceive men by your pretences, and your external 
show of godliness; and by these means you gain their 
esteem; but God looks on the heart; him you cannot 
deceive: and your pretended righteousness which 
is highly esteemed among men is abomination in 
the sight oi'Gocl. From this Jesus returns immedi- 
ately to the main theme of his discourse, viz. the 
rejection of the gospel by the Jews. He labors to 
shew, that the time had come for men to abandon 
the law of Moses, and embrace the gospel, or, in 
other words, enter the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 
See ver. 16. "The lawand the prophets were until 
John ; since that time the kingdom of God is 
preached, and every man presseth into ij," The 
Pharisees still maintained their adhesion to the 
law ; but God designed that the law should not 
continue beyond the days of John, since which 
time the gospel was preached, and men eagerly 
embraced it. Not one jot or tittle of this law should 
fail, ver. 17. It was designed to be fulfilled, and 
done away ; and when the time arrived for its ab- 
rogation, it \\ T as easier for heaven and earth to pass 
away, than that il should longer remain. In ver. 
18, we come to a striking but short parable, in 
which Jesus sets forth the sin of those who still ad- 
hered to the law. " Whosoever putteth away his 
wife, and marrieth another, cominitteth adultery : 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 143 

and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from 
her husband, committeth adultery." If the Jews 
had put away the law before the time for its ab- 
rogation had arrived, they would have been guilty 
of a sin, like that of the man who should put away 
his wife, and marry another; but they committed 
the same oifence by adhering to the law after the 
days of John, since which time the kingdom of God 
was preached ; for they were like the man who 
married her that was put away by her hus- 
band ; they remained attached to a dispensation 
which God had determined should come to an end, 
and this too notwithstanding they had been urged 
to receive the gospel, both by Jesus and his apos- 
tles. Their glory however was about to depart. 
The poor Gentiles, whom they had despised, were 
to be received into the kingdom of the gospel, and 
they were to be cast into outer darkness. This 
great change in their circumstances, as well as the 
conversion of the Gentiles to the faith of Abraham, 
are beautifully figured in. the parable of the rich 
man and Lazarus, to which the attention of the 
reader will, in the next place, be directed. 



144 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Parable of the Rich !?Iaii and Lazarus. 

LUKE XVI. 19—31. 

" There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple 
and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there icas 
a certain beggar named Lazaras, which was laid at his gate, 
full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the cru?7ibs wh 
from the rich man's table : moreover the dogs came and licked his 
sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and teas car- 
ried by angels into Abraham's bosom : the rich man also died, 
and was b tried : and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- 
ments, and seeth Abraham afar off-, and Lazarus in his bosom. 
And he cried, and said, fatnei », have mercy on me. 

and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water 
and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But 
Abraham said, son, remember that th edst 

thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things ; but now he is 
comforted, and thou art tormented. 

us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they who would 
pass from hence to you cannot : neither can they pass to us, that 
xcould come from thence. Then he said. I pray thee there; 
Father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house : For I 
have five brethren: that he may testify unto them, lest they also 
comt into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, they 
have .Moses and the prophets : let them hear them And he said, 
7iay, father Abraham ; but if one went unto them from the dead, 
they will repent. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses 
and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose 
from the dead.'' 

We propose, in considering* this parable, to 
show. 

1st. That allowing the passage to be a literal ac- 
count and not a parable, it fails altogether of substan- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 145 

tiating either the doctrine of theCalvinist concern- 
ing election and reprobation, or of the Arminian, 
concerning rewards and punishments in the future 
state for the conduct of men in this life. 

2d. That the literal sense of the parable, differs 
essentially from the doctrine of those who give it 
that construction. 

3d. That the passage is a parable. 

4th. Its true application. 

It is believed by Calvinists, that God elected to 
his favor before the world was created, those who 
will finally be saved ; and that he reprobated to his 
eternal ire all the rest of mankind. What evidence 
does the parable before us furnish in favor of this 
doctrine ? What do we find in it about election 
and reprobation? Are we informed that the rich man 
was reprobated to God's eternal wrath ? Or that 
God hated him ? Or that he loved Abraham or 
Lazarus more ? Are we informed that Lazarus was 
elected to God's peculiar favor ? We cannot see 
one word in favor of the notion, either of elec- 
tion or reprobation. How then does the parable 
afford this doctrine any proof ? How can it prove 
that to which it does not contain even a reference? 

The other doctrine of which we spoke is, that 
mankind will be recompensed in the future state 
for the vices and virtues of this world. Under- 
standing the parable literally, what evidence does it 
furnish in favor of this doctrine ? We read that the 
rich man was in torments in hades; but not because 
he had been wicked : and we read that the beggar 
was happy ; but not because he had been good. 
We see no evidence in the parable, that the rich 
man was a very bad man, or that the beggar was 
better than he. We are not informed that the 
former obtained his riches improperly, or that the 
10 



146 NOTES OX THE PARABLES. 

beugar did not become poor by his own nep-'isrence 
or imprudence. It has been alleged against the 
rich man, that he refused Lazarus the crumbs 
which fell from his table. If this be a fact, why- 
did Lazarus lay at his gate ? We should judge by 
the account, that some persons-, through compas- 
sion, perhaps the friends of the beggar, carried him 
to the rich man's gate, and laid him there Would 
they have done this, had they known the rich man 
o be covetous ? Of all places the rich man s gate 
u-as selected, as the most proper for the poor man 
to lay at. Besides, the word translated desiring 
hi the account, is sometimes rendered d( ^.1 

I The word here rendered desiring is epiihiunon. Of this word 
Parkburst says, that, written with an infinitive following, it signifies 
"to be content, or glad* to esteem it a great matter?' and he 

adduces the instance in the partible before us., of its oceurrn g in this 
sense. To which he adds, i4 thus Eisner on Luke xvi. 21. explains 
it, and observes not only that the L^X. have so applied it. Isa. hiii. 
2, but that Lysias has used it in a like sense. Orat. 24." I ex. sub 
voc. Dr. Campbell says, - ; I agree with those who do not think 
there is anv foundation, in this expression, for sa v ii g that he was re- 
fused the crumbs. When the historian says, thai d at the 
rich man's gate, be means not, surely, that he was or.ce there, but 
that he was usually so placed, which would not probably have hap- 
pened, if he had got nothing at all. 1 he other circumstances concur 
in heightening the probability. Such are, the rich man's immediate- 
ly knowing him, his asking that he might be made the - ot of 
the relief he wanted : and, let n.e add this, that though the Patri- 
arch upbraids the rich man with the carelessness and lu.\ury in which 
he had Jiv. d, he says not a word of inhumanity; yet. if we consider 
Lazarus as having experienced it so recent:), it couid hardly, on this 
occasion, have failed to be taken notice of. Can we suppose that 
Abraham, in the charge he brought against him, would ha\e men- 
tioned onlv the things of least moment, and on.itted those of the 
greatest?" " Much injury has b: en done to our Saviour's instruc- 
tions bv the illjudged endeavors of some expositors to improve and 
stren£then them. I know no better example for illustrating this re- 
mark, than the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Many, dissatis- 
fied with its simplicity, as related by the evangelist, and desirous, 
one would think, to viudicate the character of the judge from the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 147 

And if we read that the beggar delighted to be fed 
with the crumbs, is not this a proof that he was 
not denied them ? How then will the parable prove 
that men will be punished in the future state, be- 
cause they are sinful in this world ? We repeat, we 
see no evidence that the rich man was a bad man. 
The prayer which he offered to Abraham is the 
manifestation of a good spirit. How much better 
could Lazarus or Abraham have prayed, had either 
been in the rich man's situation ? The rich man 
prayed that his five brethren might be warned, and 
prevented from coming to that place of torment. 
Abraham seems at one time to be accounting for 
the rich man's torment : but he says nothing about 
any previous wickedness in him. " Abraham said, 
Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst 

charge of excessive severity in the condemnation of the former, load 
that wretched man with all the crimes which blacken human nature, 
and for which they have no authority from the words of inspiration. 
They will have him to have been a glutton and a drunkard, rapacious 
and unjust, cruel and hardhearted, one who spent in intemperance 
what he had acquired by extortion and fraud. Now, I must be al- 
lowed to remark, that, by so doing, they totally pervert the design 
of this most instructive lesson," &c. Thus far Dr. Campbell. See 
his whole note on Luke xvi. 21. Adam Clarke's note is to the same 
purport, as follows ; " It is likely his desire was complied with, fer 
it is not intimated that he spurned away the poor man from the 
gate, or that his suit was rejected. And as we find, ver. 24, that the 
rich man desi f ed that Lazarus should be sent with a little water to 
him, it is a strong intimation that he considered him under some 
kind of obligation to him : for had he refused him a few crumbs in 
his time, it is not reasonable to suppose, that he would now have re- 
quested such a favor from him ; nor does Abraham glance at any 
such uncharitable conduction the part of the rich man." Com- 
ment, on Luke xvi. 21. Bp. Pearce says, the desire of Lazarus was 
probably complied with, and a<Jds, "we may presume that there is 
a consistency in the several parts of this parable ; and, if so, then 
we may conclude, that Lazarus had not been refused relief at the 
rich man's door ; otherwise the rich man would have asked for any 
other, rather than Lazarus, to be sent to him." Com. on Luke 
xvi. 24. 



143 NOTES Ox\ THE PARABLES. 

thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things : 
but now he is comforted and thou art tormented " 
He did not say, remember thou in thy lifetime wast 
wicked, but Lazarus good. 

Another inquiry properly arising in this place is, 
does not the literal sense of the passage pointedly 
disagree with the notions of those who contend 
that it is not a parable? We often hear that such as 
go to hell never have one holy feeling ; no desire 
for the company of the blessed ; that they spend 
their time in blaspheming God. Was it so with the 
rich man ? Do we read of his blaspheming God ? 
No ; but we read of his offering up a prayer, and a 
good one too. U I pray thee therefore, father," 
said he, u that thou wouldst send him (Lazarus) to 
my father's house : for I have five brethren ; and 
that he may testify unto them, lest they also come 
into this place of torment." Did he not in this 
language breathe forth a good desire ? Did he not 
have a holy feeling ? Again. Abraham, when 
speaking of the great gulf, said it was fixed " so 
that they who would pass from hence to you can- 
not : neither can they pass to us that would come 
from thence." Here two things should be noticed. 
1. There were some with Abraham that would go 
to the rich man ; but could not. And, 2. There 
were some with the rich man who would go to 
Abraham ; but could not. It appears from this, 
that there were some in hell who had a desire for 
the company of the blessed, and would have gone 
to them, had it been in their power. And we learn, 
furthermore, that hell cannot be so hot a place as 
it has been represented. For if it were so, the 
rich man, we should think, would have called for 
more water than Lazarus could have carried on the 
tip of his finger. And suppose the common idea of 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 149 

a devil be correct, how would he be pleased to 
have so benevolent a prayer as that of the rich 
man, offered up in his dark dominions ? The literal 
sense pf the text comes in direct contact with many 
people's notions of a future world. 

Now let us turn to Abraham and those with him. 
It is commonly supposed, that those who are in 
heaven are happy, and perfectly reconciled to the 
will of God. We have already shown that there 
were some in the place of happiness who would go 
to the rich man ; but could not. They were not, 
therefore, perfectly happy, inasmuch as they were 
desirous of doing" that which they were not permit- 
ted to do. Neither were they reconciled to the 
will of God ; for it was the will of God that they 
should not go, and he had made the great gulf to 
prevent them. Wishing to do what was not per- 
mitted to be done, they were unhappy, and being 
unreconciled to God, they were wicked. If wick- 
ed, they must have been miserable. So we have 
one argument to prove that those who were with 
Abraham were wicked, and two that they were 
miserable. How will these things agree with the 
opinions of those who contend that the parable is 
a literal relation of facts ? Those who were in 
heaven were unreconciled to God, and those who 
were in hell were unreconciled *.o the supposed 
devil. How can the passage be explained literally ? 

But it may be said, those in heaven were benevo- 
lent, sympathetic, and were urged by good motives 
to endeavor to relieve the distressed. Permit us to 
ask, how could they be ignorant of God's determi- 
nation to punish the wicked eternally ? And will 
it be said, they were better than God ? Was not 
he as good, sympathetic and benevolent as they ? 
Let those who interpret the passage literally con- 



150 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

sider these things. Let them tell us why those in 
heaven wished to go down to hell. Was it to abide 
there ? Was it to relieve some friend, some rela- 
tion ? Would some parent comfort his child ? Some 
child, its parent ? Some brother, a sister ? Some 
husband, a wife ? No, answer the orthodox, the 
saints say Amen, alleluia, when they see the smoke 
of the torment of the wicked ascend. How will 
those who do not allow that the passage is a para- 
ble, surmount these difficulties ? 

Now allowing the passage to be a literal relation, 
what will it prove ? It will not prove the doctrine of 
election and reprobation; it will not prove that men are to 
be punished or rewarded in the next life for their conduct 
in this; but it will prove that there was a man tor- 
mented in hades, who was a good man in some re- 
spects, and for aught we know, as good as any 
body else ; it will prove that those who are in 
heaven are both wicked and miserable, that they 
wish to leave the place and go to hell ; and it will 
prove that some notions which orthodox people 
have entertained for years, are totally erroneous. 
Those who contend that it is not a parable, for any 
thing we see, must allow all these things. 

Bat it may be said that the passage understood 
literally, proves that men will be punished after 
death We answer, if we interpret it literally, and 
suppose the death of the rich man to mean the de- 
parture of life from his animal frame, then it will 
teach that one man was tormented in another state 
of being; but whether it should be for one year, 
one day or hour, we could not tell. One thing is 
certain, it would not then prove the doctrine of 
endless torment, for the place, the hell, in which the 
rich man was tormented, is to be destroyed, according 
to the testimony of Hosea, "0 hades y I will be thy 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 151 

destruction," (Hos. xiii. 14,) and of John, "And death 
and hades were cast into the lake of fire," (Rev. xx. 14,) 
and of Paul, u O hades where is thy victory," (1 Cor. 
xv. 55.) But if we may have the liberty of inter- 
preting- parables literally, we will engage to prove 
almost any thing. There is no intelligent christian 
who does not know, that those things which Jesus 
used as figures of the reality, should not be con- 
sidered the reality itself. 

There is sufficient evidence, both internal and 
external, to prove that the passage is a parable. 
We will first briefly examine the internal. It is 
stated the beggar was carried by angels into Abra- 
ham's bosom. Now we ask, can any one suppose 
that this is to be understood in the literal sense? 
These people are represented as having bodily or- 
gans and powers. The rich man had eyes and a 
tongue, and Lazarus fingers. Can this be inter- 
preted literally ? Do disembodied spirits in the 
world to come have eyes, and tongues, and. fingers, 
and the powers of speech, of hearing and seeing P 1 

l "Lift up his eyes. These words, like as some of the follow- 
ing, must not be understood properly, for the soul being a spiritual 
being, hath neither eyes, nor tongue, nor finger, but by similitude, 
&c." See the Dutch Annotations, according to the translation of 
the Bible as ordered by the Synod of Dort. London, 1(?57. 

Ver. 19. "This is more likely to be a parable than a true history." 

23. Lift up. " All this ought to be understood figuratively." 
See pious and learned Annotations on the Holy Bible by John Dio- 
dati, of Geneva. London, 1651. 

Dr. Whitby argues conclusively that the passage is a parable, and 
states that it was not original with Jesus, but was quoted by him 
from some Jewish writings. '« That this is only a parable, and noj 
a real history of what was actually done, is evident, 1st,. because we 
find this very parable in the Gemara Babylonicura^ whence it is 
cited by Mr. Sheringham, in the preface to his Jorna. 2d. From 
the circumstances of it, viz. the rich man's lifting up his eyes in hell, 
and seeing Lazarus in Abraham's bosom, his discourse with Abra- 
ham, his complaint of being tormented with flames, and his desire 



152 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

We do not profess to know much about spirits in 
another world, but we believe this is not the com- 
mon opinion upon the subject. However, it be- 
longs to those who say the passage is not a parable, 
to solve these difficulties, and to show us how peo- 
ple in heaven and hell can converse with apparent 
ease from one place to the other. 

The external evidence that the passage is a para- 
ble, is the connexion in which it is found. We 
should maintain a proper connexion throughout our 
Lord's discourse. But we see no way to do this, if 
we do not consider the passage a parable. It is 
found connected with a number of pamblcs, in 
Luke xv. and xvi. as we have already shown. 

In the beginning of the 15th chapter, we find that 
the Scribes and Pharisees murmured, because Je- 
sus received sinners and ate with them. In the 
three parables which fill up the remainder of this 
chapter, viz. that of the lost sheep, of the lost 
piece of silver, and of the prodigal son, Jesus vin- 
dicated that part of his conduct of which they had 
complained. But in the last of these three para- 
bles, a character was presented which had not ap- 
peared in either of the others. This was the elder 
son, who was angry because the prodigal was re- 
ceived into favor, and who very justly represented 
the scribes and Pharisees ; for they murmured be- 
cause Jesus Christ received sinners and ate with 
them. These Pharisees rejected the gospel ; and 
this is represented by the elder son's refusing to go 

that Lazarus might be sent to cool his tongue ; and if all this be con- 
fessedly parable, why should the rest, which is the \ery parable in 
the Gemara, be accounted history ?" IVote on Luke xvi. 29. 

Arch Bishop Tillotson remarks, that in some ancient l\ SS. the 
passage commences as follows: "And he spake a parable unto 
them, saying, there was a certain rich man, &c." Sec his Sermon* 
on the parable. Dr. Gill has the same remark in his Commentary * 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 153 

into his father's house. In the parable of the un- 
just steward, with which the 16th chapter is com- 
menced, the same people are admonished for not 
making* such improvement of the law, as would in- 
troduce them into the christian faith and church. 
The Pharisees being provoked at this, derided Je- 
sus. After briefly describing to them their conduct, 
he says, u the law and the prophets were until 
John : rince that time the kingdom of God is preach- 
ed, and every man presseth into it." Jesus then 
spake another parable, in which the folly of the 
Jews, in rejecting the gospel and adhering to the 
law, is represented by the sin of adultery. Then 
come the word « of the passage before us ; " There 
was a certain rich man," &c. What is there in all 
this connexion which would have the least tenden- 
cy to lead the mind to the doctrine which the pass- 
age is used to support ? It has been justly said, 
u To suppose that he who spake as never man 
spake, abruptly dropped the subject of the end of 
the law dispensation, and the introduction of the 
gospel, or kingdom of heaven, and having no furth- 
er allusion to this subject, proceeded to give an ac- 
count of the sin of adultery, which account occupies 
but one vev^c^ and then again flics directly from 
this subject, to give a literal account about a rich 
man and a beggar, in this world and in an eternal 
state, is so unwarrantable, and so derogatory to 
the character of the divine orator, that it is a mat- 
ter of wonder that such an opinion should ever 
have been honored with the consent of learned 
commentators." 1 

Having proved, as we think, that the passage is 
a parable, we shall now proceed to show the true 
meaning of the word hades; and why our Lord 

i Ballou's Sermon on the Parable, edition of 1819, page 7. 



154 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

spake of it as a place of torment. Hades is the word 
rendered Hell. Its literal meaning is not a place of 
torment in another world : but the state of the dead in 
general, without regard to the goodness or badness of per- 
sons, their happiness, or misery. This was the meaning 
of the Hebrew word Sheol, which the LXX. have 
almost invariably rendered Hades. 1 All men go down 
to hades at death, where they remain till the resur- 
rection. It is said in the scriptures that our Sa- 
viour's soul was in hell, hades; not in a place of 
torment; but in the state of the dead, the grave. 
There it did not remain, for he rose from the dead. 
See Acts ii. 27. In the Improved Version, the place 
where the rich man was, is called "the unseen 
state," and in Wakefield's translation, " the grave." 
These are their definitions of hades. Wakefield 
says, in his note on this place, " It must be remem- 
bered that hades no where means hell,, gehenna, in 
any author whatsoever, sacred or profane , and also 
that our Lord is giving his hearers a parable, (Matt, 
xiii. 34,) and not a piece of real history. To them 
who regard the narrative as exhibiting a reality, it 
must stand as an unanswerable argument for the 
purgatory of the Papists. The universal meaning of 
hades is the state of death." Whitby, who was farther 

l " The world hath been filled with disputes about the true signi- 
fication of the word Hades, which is here translated Hell. 1 he most 
probably true notion of it is, that it signifies the state of the dead, 
both of the dead body, and so it often signifieth the grave, and of the 
departed soul. A very learned man saith, that if he mistaketh not, 
this is the only text in scripture, in which by it is to be understood 
the place of torments. The Hebrew word which is translated by 
this, far more often signifieth the place of the blessed, whither the 
saints and patriarchs went when they died, than the place whither 
sinners went." — Poole's Continuators, London, 685. 

" All learned Hebricians know that Sheol is more proper for the 
grave than Hell; and that the Hebrews have no word proper for Hell s 
as we take Mtslb 9 * — -Leigh's Critica Sacra, London, 160.. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 155 

from being a Universalist than Wakefield, says, 
" Sheol throughout the Old Testament, and Hades 
in the Septuagint, answering to it, signify not a 
place of punishment, or of the souls of bad men only, but 
the grave only, or the place of death." He says, 
Hades is the place — " Whither we are all going." 
Jacob went there ; Job desired, yea prayed to go 
there ; Hezekiah expected to go there, for he said 
"I shall go to the gates of Hades." Whitby fur- 
ther says, " The ancient Greeks assigned one Ha- 
des to all that died, and therefore say, Hades re- 
ceives all mortal men together, all men shall go to hades" 
Dr. Campbell, a believer of the doctrine of endless 
misery, gives us the same account of hades. This 
then is what we must understand the word hell to 
mean, when it stands for hades, — a place to which 
all men go, good and bad. We must not, when we 
contemplate it, look forward beyond the resurrec- 
tion. All men will be raised from hades to incor- 
ruption and immortality. Then hades will be de- 
stroyed. Our word hell, in its original significa- 
tion, perfectly corresponded to the definition we 
have given of Hades. At the present time it does 
not; with christians genrrally, its meaning some- 
how has been changed ; but we are informed, we 
believe by Dr. Doddridge, that the original sense of 
the word hell is now retained in the eastern, and 
especially in the western counties of England; 
where to hele over a thing is to cover it. Hence 
says Dr. Campbell, " it (hades) ought never in the 
scripture to be rendered hell, at least in the sense wherein 
that word is now universally understood by christians." 
He says, that with the meaning of hades, "the word 
hell, in its primitive signification, perfectly corres- 
ponded. For, at first, it denoted only what was se- 
cret or concealed." The rich man, and the beggar 



156 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

and Abraham, were all represented as being in 
hades together. We do not read that one was in 
hell, bat the other two in heaven. This differs ma- 
terially, we know, from the common opinion on this 
subject ; but we see no way to avoid it. The pas- 
sage contains not one word to the contrary. Nay, 
it rather favors the idea. For otherwise, how could 
the rich man see Abraham and Lazarus ? How 
could he converse with Abraham, and how could 
Abraham hear hiui ? 

As we have proved by the most respectable, or- 
thodox authority, that the literal and original mean- 
ing of hades is the same as the Hebre v sheoL signi- 
fying the state of the dead in general, the place 
whither we all go, whether good or bad, it remains 
for us to show why our Lord spake of it as a place 
of torment. Let it be then remembered, that when 
our Lord was upon the earth, the minds of the 
Jews had changed with regard to hades ; they had 
come to entertain different views of it from those 
they imbibed by reading the Old Testament. They 
had deviated from that sense in which the sacred 
writers had used it ; and thought that ghosts of de- 
parted men would be punished there. They did 
not think that all who went there would be un- 
happy; for they supp sed it was divided into dif- 
ferent parts, for ghosts of different characters. 
That they did not learn this doctrine from the Old 
Testament, is sufficiently obvious; for no such doc- 
trine is there. Dr. Campbell says, "It is plain, 
that in the Old Testament, the most profound si- 
lence is observed in regard to the state of the de- 
ceased, their joys, or sorrows, happiness or mise- 
ry." They could not have learned it from the 
New Testament ; for it was not then written. 
Where then did they learn it ? Answer, From the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 157 

idolatrous heathen nations around them. In sup- 
port of this, we give a quotation from the learned 
author just named. He thus writes, Dis. vi. Part 
2, Sect. 19. ct But the opinions neither of Hehrews 
nor of the heathen, remained invariably the same. 
And from the time of the captivity, more especially 
from the time of the subjection of the Jews, tirst to 
the Macedonian empire, and afterwards to the Ro- 
man; as they had a closer intercourse with pagans, 
they insensibly imbibed many of their sentiments, 
particularly on those subjects, whereon their law 
was silent, and wherein by consequence, they con- 
sidered themselves as at greater freedom. On this 
subject of a future state, we find a considerable dif- 
ference in the popular opinions of the Jews in our 
Saviour's time, from those which prevailed in the 
days of the ancient prophets. As both Greeks and 
Romans had adopted the notion, that the ghosts of 
the departed were susceptible both of enjoyment 
and of suffering, they were led to suppose a sort of 
retribution in that state, for their merit or demerit 
in the present. The Jews did not indeed adopt the 
pagan fables on this subject, nor did they express 
themselves entirely in the same manner; but the 
general train of thinking in both came pretty much 
to coincide. The Greek Hades they found well 
adapted to express the Hebrew Sheol. This they 
came to conceive as including different sorts of hab- 
itations t'ot ghosts of different characters." Here 
we have our question answered. On whose au- 
thority did the Jews believe that Hades was a place 
of punishment ? Ans. On the authority of the 
heathen. The Dr. says, u they insensibly imbib- 
ed many of their sentiments, particularly on those 
subjects whereon their law was silent, and where- 
in, by consequence, they thought themselves as at 



158 NOTES ON THE PARABLES, 

greater freedom* On this subject of a future state, we 
find a considerable difference in the popular opinions of the 
Jews in our Saviour's time, from those which prevailed in 
the days of the ancient prophets." u The general train 
of thinking," says he, "in both (i. e. Jews and 
heathen) came pretty much to coincide." Now we 
believe that it was to this opinion, that hades was 
divided into different habitations, peopled by good 
and bad spirits, that our Lord alluded in the para- 
ble. Hence, both Abraham and the rich man are 
represented as being in one place, divided into dif- 
ferent apartments by the great gulf. The Jews 
were tenacious of these opinions; and our Lord 
used them as figures of an important truth. And 
the reason why he spake in parables generally, 
may be rendered why he thus spake in the passage 
before us. He did not allude to their doctrine to 
recognise it as truth ; no, and all the evidence we 
find in the passage of the truth of the heathen no- 
tions concerning hades is, that he used them as a 
similitude. In the parable of the sower, Jesus 
used natural things as similitudes of spiritual. We 
do not understand the figures as realities there, and 
we should not in the passage before us. 1 Have we 
not proved that the passage is a parallel Have we 
not shown that literally it proves a doctrine which 
nobody believes ? We ask then, by what just rule 
of interpretation it can be said to prove the doc- 
trine of a future state of punishment?- We have 
the opinion of those who believed in endless mise- 
ry, that this is a parable ; we see nothing to prove 
it is not ; and we then demand, why we should not 
adopt the same rules in explaining it that we do in 

1 If there are any who think that no parable, in its literal sense, 
is impossible, and that Jesus would not have used, even in figure, 
what is untrue in itself, let them consult Judges ix. 8 — 15. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 159 

explaining other parables ? Parables, we all know, 
are figurative language. The truth taught is to be 
sought under the figure. 

If the passage be not a parable, it should be in- 
terprete J literally throughout. But this cannot be 
done, as we think we have shown. We, in this 
way, must receive the heathen's notion of hades; 
we must consider Abraham and Lazarus in hell, as 
well as the rich man, and this too with their bodies, 
with the senses of seeing, hearing, &c. &c. Who 
is prepared to admit this ? Let it then be distinct- 
ly understood, that it is our opinion, Jesus intro- 
duced those views of hades which the Jews had 
received of the heathen, and used them, in a para- 
bolic sense, to illustrate his instructions. He did 
not recognise them as realities, any more than he 
did the figures and' imagery of his other parables. 

It ha? been justly remarked, that if Jesus meant 
to teach that hades was a place of punishment, he 
would have stated it plainly once at least. This he 
did not do. He hints it only, and then in a parable. 
And we think if the apostles had understood him 
as teaching that hades was a place of punishment, 
they would have asserted it. This they never did. 
They spake of Itades, but not as a place of punish- 
ment, or torment, 1 Peter said, that Christ's soul 
was there ; not in a place of torment, but in the 
state of the dead. These facts weigh so heavily 
on our mind, that we esteem it unnecessary to say 
more, until some one shall attempt to show that 
the passage is not a parable ; and to invalidate the 
evidence we have given to the contrary. When 
any man feels disposed to contend for heathen no- 
tions of hades, as a doctrine of Christianity, we will 

l See Balfour's 1st Inquiry, chap. i. sec. 2, which may be profita- 
bly read in reference to the subject before us. 



1G0 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

then meet him in a proper way, and discuss the 
question concerning the higher origin of Christ- 
ianity. 

We will now endeavor to show the true applica- 
tion of the parable. But here we should again 
consult the connexion. Just before Jesus spake the 
parable, he said, "the law and the prophets icere 
until John: since that time the kingdom of God is 
preached, and every man presseth into it." Here 
notice, that when Jesus spake these words, the 
law dispensation was ended ; for that was "until 
John" only : "since that time" says Christ, u tne king- 
dom of God (the gospel dispensation) is preached." 
" It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than 
one tittle of the law to fail." By this we learn that 
the law could not pass away, without being fulfill- 
ed. We now come again to the parable concern- 
ing adultery, which reads as follows : " Whosoever 
putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, com- 
mitteth adultery : and whosoever marrieth her that 
is put away from her husband, eommitteth adul- 
tery." If the Jews had pat away the law, and 
married mother covenant before John came, they, in 
a parabolic sense, would have committed adultery. 
For infinite wisdom ordained that the law should 
remain "until John." And it ordained that it should 
remain no longer. For "since that time the kingdom 
of God is preached." The law was put away ; it 
was fulfilled ; " Christ is the end of the law ;" he 
came to close the first dispensation, and introduce 
the gospel. The Jews, by rejecting the gospel, 
and adhering to the law, committed adultery, as 
would a man who should marry a woman that had 
been put away by her husband. The parable upon 
which we are now discoursing immediately fol- 
lows. " There was a certain rich man," &c. The 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 161 

same subject is continued through the chapter. 
The state of the Jews, after the kingdom of God 
had been taken from them and given to a nation 
bringing forth the fruits thereof, is beautifully- 
figured in the description of the rich man's circum- 
stances. 

By the rich man the house of Israel is represented. 
They are frequently spoken of under the figure of 
an individual in the scriptures. God said by Hosea, 
"When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and 
called my son out of Egypt." Hosea xi. 1. " So 
the Lord alone did lead him, (the house of Israel) 
and there was no strange God with him. He made 
him ride on the high places of the earth, that he 
might eat the increase of the fields ; and he made 
him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of 
the flinty rock.' 7 Deut. xxxii. 12, 13. These are 
sufficient to show that the posterity of Abraham 
are spoken of in the scriptures in the character of 
an individual. 

This man was rich. u There was a certain rich 
man." He was blessed with a land flowing with 
milk and honey. He had advantage every way, 
chiefly because unto him was committed the ora- 
cles of God. In Rom. ix. 4, 5, we have in detail an 
account of -this man's riches. " Who are Israelites; 
to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, 
and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and 
the service of God, aud the promises; whose are 
the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, 
Christ came, who is over all, God, blessed forever, 
Amen." 

This man was clothed in "purple and fine linen." 

So Israel is represented in the scriptures as being 

clad. " I clothed thee also with broidered work, 

and shod thee with badger's skin, and I girded thee 

11 



162 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. 
Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver, and 
thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroi- 
dered work." Ezek. xvi. 10 — 13. "And of the 
blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made clothes of 
service, to do service in the holy place, and made 
the holy garments for Aaron ; as the Lord com- 
manded Moses. And he made the ephod of gold, 
blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen" 
Fxodus xxxix. 1, 2. 

He fared sumptuously every day. This was 
eminently true of Israel. God says, u thou didst 
eat fine flour, and honey, and oil ; and thou wast 
exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a 
kingdom." The rich man's land flowed with milk 
and honey. He fed spiritually upon the knowledge 
of God, and upon the promises. 

By Lazarus the beggar, the poor Gentiles ex- 
cluded from the advantages which God's covenant 
people enjoyed, are represented. Paul details the 
poverty of the Gentiles. "Jit that time" says he, 
u ye were without Christ, being aliens from the common- 
wealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of prom- 
ise, having no hope, and without God in the world." Eph. 
ii. 12. They were poor indeed. His being "full 
of sores," represented the moral condition of the 
Gentiles. By the death of the beggar is represent- 
ed the Gentiles' release from their idolatrous wor- 
ship ; and his being carried by angels into Abra- 
ham's bosom, represented the conversion of the 
Gentiles to the faith of Abraham, by the messen- 
gers of God. The rich man died politically. He 
lost his riches, his purple and fine linen, his gov- 
ernment, his city, and his existence as a body poli- 
tic. He was buried. His going into outer dark- 
ness is justly represented by being buried. He 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 163 

died to light, and went into darkness. The poor 
man died to darkness and came forth to light. 
Hence he is not said to be buried. The rich man 
sees Lazarus in Abraham's bosom ;* he sees fulfill- 
ed the words of Christ, " There shall be weeping 
and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, 
and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the 
kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 
And they shall come from the east, and from the 
west, and from the north, and from the south, and 
shall sit down in the kingdom of God." Matt. viii. 
11 and Lukexiii. 28, 29. 

The rich man calls upon Abraham, whom he ad- 
dresses by the title of Father. This is character- 
istic of the Jews. Abraham was their father ; and 
they seemed proud of their progenitor. Speaking 
to our Saviour, they said, " art thou greater than 
our father Abraham ?" John told them, M think not 
to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our 
father." Yes, they would be in favor with Abra- 
ham. They have disbelieved Jesus; they have 
abused their privileges ; they have relied upon 
their national greatness, and the glory of their an- 
cestors. When in distress, they turned to Abra- 

l Abraham's bosom. This figure is drawn from the customs of 
the Jews at their feasts. When reclining on their couches at table, 
they sometimes placed their heads on one another's bosom, as a sign 
of equality and strict union among the guests. So John is said to 
have laid on Jesus' breast, John xiii. 25. See Bp. Pearce on Luke 
xvi. 22, and Home's Intro, iii. 3©4. By Lazarus being in Abraham's 
bosom, or lying on his bosom, denotes his elevation to the same rank 
with the patriarch at the repast of the gospel, and the strict union 
between them. The whole is a figure, however, and denotes the 
same as when it is said, that " many shall come from the east and 
west, and shall lie down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the 
kingdom of heaven," Matt. viii. 11 ; they should enter into the 
same kingdom, of which Abraham was a member by believing the 
promises concerning Christ ; and they should, by faith, enjoy in that 
kingdom a strict equality and communion with him. 



164 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

ham for mercy. But their national greatness is 
gone, and the glory of their ancestors can afford 
them no relief. Abraham is represented as recog- 
nizing the relationship. He refers the rich man to 
his former condition, as well as to that of the beg- 
gar, and seems to give this as a reason why the 
former was tormented and the latter blessed. This 
is according to the equality of God's ways. The 
Jews had possessed a knowledge of God, and been 
blessed for a long time, while the Gentiles had been 
without hope, and without God in the world. Now 
the sceae is reversed according to the appointment 
of God. u It was necessary, 5 ' said the apostles to 
them, c; that the word of God should first have 
been spoken to you : but seeing ye put it from you, 
and j idge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, 
lo. we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord 
commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a 
light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for sal- 
vation unto the ends of the earth." Acts xiii. 46. 47. 
The gulf which separated the rich man from 
Lazarus, very well represents any circumstance 
by which the Jews are separated from the Gentile 
nations. That such a separation has long existed, 
admits not of a doubt ; and when we reflect that, 
although many centuries have passed away since 
the Jews forfeited their national character, they 
have never become mixed and lost among the na- 
tions, we can but recognize some manifest design 
of Providence in the event. By this gulf we may 
more particularly understand that purpose of God, 
in which it is determined, that the Jews shall not 
believe the gospel until the fulness of the Gentiles 
be come in. This was the subject of prophecy. 
Isaiah says, "who hath believed our report:'' 
And John applies this to the unbelief of the Jews 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 165 

in the Messiahship of Jesus. He says, " therefore 
they could not believe, because that Esnias said 
again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened 
their heart, that they should not see with their 
eyes, and understand with their heart, and be con- 
verted, and I should heal them." John xih 38 — 40. 
Matt. xiii. 14, 15, Mark iv\ 11, 12. Luke viii. 10. 
Acts, xxviii. 26 — 28. Rom. xi. 8. The divine pur- 
pose in this, is consistent with God's impartial char- 
acter. This blindness of the Jews is to bring about 
the conversion of the Gentiles, through who&e 
mercy the Jews will at las; obtain mercy. Paul, 
addressing one of the Gentiie churches, says, u For 
as ye in times past have not believed God, yet 
have now obtained mercy through their unbelief; 
even so have these also now not believed, that 
through your mercy they also may obtain mercy." 
Rom, xi, 30, 31. Of the unbelief of the Jews, the 
prophets had prophesied. When the Gentiles saw 
the prophesies fulfilled in the obstinacy of the Jews, 
they were convinced of the divine origin of Christ- 
ianity ; they pressed into the kingdom of God. By 
the mercy of the Gentiles the Jews are at last to 
obtain mercy. Paul says, " For I would not, breth- 
ren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, 
(lest ye should be wise in your own conceits) that 
blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the ful- 
ness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel 
shall be saved ; as it is written, there shall come 
out ofZion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungod- 
liness from Jacob." Rom, xi. 25, 26. Although 
the Jews are now shut out of the kingdom, we can 
easily perceive they are finally to be brought in. 
Jesus said unto them, "ye shall not see me hence- 
forth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in 
the name of the Lord." Matt, xxiii. 39. When 



166 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

they will say this, we are not yet permitted to 
know ; but no one believes the divine testimony 
can doubt that they will at a proper time. The 
benefit derived from the gulf, will then be obtain- 
ed, and Jews and Gentiles will rejoice together in 
the fruition of eternal life. 



Appendix. 

We cannot refrain from adding, by way of ap- 
pendix to the notes on this parable, that writers of 
different christian denominations have taken the 
same view of it with ourselves. The following ex- 
tracts from two authors of some note, confirm the 
remark here made. 

Theophylact, from whose Commentary on the 
Four Gospels the following extract was made, lived 
in the eleventh century, and was Metropolitan of 
Bulgaria. He certainly was not an Universalis ; 
yet he considered it as by no means doing injustice 
to the parable, to explain it as we have done. Here 
follows the extract : 

" la the preceding verses, our Lord had taught 
us to conduct ourselves properly with regard to our 
riches; and to the same purpose, he adds, by way 
of example, this Parable. For this is a Parable, 
and not, as some have thought, a history ; because 
that the blessings of eternity were not yet adjudg- 
ed to the righteous, nor the judgments to the wick- 
ed. But the Lord spake figuratively, designing to 
teach the unmerciful what was at length to come 
upon them, and on the other hand, to assure the 
afflicted how happy they are to become, for the 
evils they here sustain." Accordingly, Theophy- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 167 

lact proceeds to apply this Parable, as a represent- 
ation of the different conditions of the proud sinner 
and of the humble saint, after the general judg- 
ment ; and he incidentally reasons from the Para- 
ble, against Origen's doctrine of the restoration, 
because Abraham says, " that they which would 
pass from hence to you, cannot, neither can they 
pass to us that would come from thence." 

At last, however, Theophylact says, u But this 
Parable can also be explained in the way of allego- 
ry; so that we may say that by the rich man is 
signified the Jewish people. For they were for- 
merly rich, abounding in all divine knowledge, wis- 
dom and instruction, which are more excellent than 
gold and precious stones. And they were arrayed 
in purple and fine linen, as they possessed a king- 
dom, and a priesthood, and were themselves a 
royal priesthood to God. The purple denoted their 
kingdom; and the fine linen, their priesthood. For 
the Levites were clothed in sacerdotal vestments 
of fine linen; and they fed sumptuously and lived 
spendidly, every day. Daily did they offer the 
morning and the evening sacrifice; which they also 
called the continual sacrifice. But Lazarus was 
the Gentile people; poor in divine grace and wis- 
dom, and lying before the gates : for it was not 
permitted to the Gentiles to enter the house it- 
self, because they were considered a pollution. 
Thus, in the Acts of the apostles, we read that it 
was alleged against Paul that he had introduced 
Gentiles into the temple, and made that holy place 
common or unclean. Moreover, those people were 
full of fetid sores of sin, on which the impudent 
dogs, or devils, fed, who delight themselves in our 
sores. The Gentiles likewise desired even the 
crumbs which fell from the tables of the rich ; for 



1G8 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

they were wholly destitute of that bread which 
strengthens the heart of man, and wanted even the 
smallest morsel of food; so that the Canaanite wo- 
man (Matt. xv. 27,) when she was a heathen, de- 
sired to be fed with the crumbs. In short the He- 
brew people were dead unto God, and their bones, 
which could not be moved to do g-Jod, were perish- 
ed. Lazarus also, I mean the Gentile people, 
were dead in sin. And the envious Jews who were 
dead in sins, did actually burn in aflame of jeal- 
ousy, as saith the apostle, on account of the Gen- 
tiles being received into the faith, and because that 
those who had before been a pioor and despised 
Gentile race, were now in the bosom of Abraham, 
the father of nations. And justly, indeed, were 
they thus revived. For it was while Abraham 
was yet a Gentile, that he believed God, and turn- 
ed from the worship of idols to the knowledge of 
God. Therefore, it was proper that they who 
were partakers of his conversion and faith, should 
vest in his bosom, sharing the same final lot, the 
same habitation and the same blessedness. And 
the Jewish people longed for one drop of the former 
legal sprinklings and purifications to refresh their 
tongue, that they might confidently say to us that 
the Law was still efficacious and availing. But it 
was not, For the Law was only until John. And 
the Psalmist says, sacrifice and oblations thou 
wouldst not, &c." 

Theophylact then briefly observes, that we ought 
to make a moral use of this Parable, and not des- 
pise our servants who stand at our gates. Theo- 
phylacti in Quatuor Evangelia Enarratione^, p. 119, 
Edit. Basil, 1525, 

We may add the testimony of another writer, 
who, we suppose, was not an Universalist, to the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 169 

correctness of the views we have advanced. We 
extract the following from a work entitled a " Ra- 
tionale of the Literal Doctrine of Original Sin, &c. 
By James Bate, M. A. Rector of Deptford." 

" We will suppose, then., the rich man who fared so 
sumptuously, to be the Jew; so amply enriched with 
the heavenly treasure of divine revelation. The 
poor beggar, who lay at his gate, in so miserable a plight, 
was the poor Gentile; now reduced to the last de- 
gree of want in regard to religious knowledge. 
The crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, and 
which the beggar was so desirous of picking up, were 
such fragments pi- patriarchal and Jewish traditions 
as their travelling philosophers were able to pick 
up, with their utmost care and diligence. And. 
those philosophers were also the dogs that licked the 
sores of heathenism, and endeavored to supply the 
wants of divine revelation, by such schemes and 
hypotheses concerning the nature of the gods, and 
the obligation of moral duties, as (due allowance 
for their ignorance and frailties) did no small honor 
to human nature, and yet thereby plainly showed, 
how little a way unassisted re; son could go, with- 
out some supernatural help; as one of the wisest of 
them frankly confessed. About one and the same 
time, the beggar dies, and is carried by the angels (i. e. 
God's spiritual messengers to mankind) into Jlbra- 
hom's bosom ; that is, he is engrafted into the church 
of God. Jlnd the rich man also dies and is buried. He 
dies what we call a political death. His dispensa- 
tion ceases. He is rejected from being any longer 
the peculiar son of God. The people whom he 
parabolically represents, are miserably destroyed 
by the Romans, and the wretched remains of them 
driven into exile over the face of the earth ; mere 
vagabonds, with a kind of mark set upon them, 



170 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

like Cain their prototype, for a like crime ; and 
which mark may perhaps be their adherence to 
the law. Whereby it came amazingly to pass, that 
these people, though dispersed, yet still dwell alone 
and separate ; not being reckoned among the nations, as 
Balaam foretold. The rich man being- reduced to 
this state of misery, complains bitterly of his hard 
fate : but is told by Abraham, that he slipped his 
opportunity, while Lazarus laid hold on his, and 
now receives the comfort of it. The Jew com- 
plains of the want of more evidence, to convince 
his countrymen, the five brethren ; and would fain 
have Lazarus sent from the dead to convert them. 
But Abraham tells him, that if their own scriptures can- 
not convince them of their error, neither would they he per- 
waded though one rose from the dead. And exactly so 
it proved in the event. For, this parable was de- 
livered towards the end of the third year of our 
Lord's ministry ; and in the fourth, or following 
year of it, the words put into the mouth of Abra- 
ham, as the conclusion of the parable, are most 
literallv verified, bv our Lord's raising another 
Lazarus from the dead. And we may presume 
that the beggar had the fictitious name of Lazarus 
given him in the parable, not without some reason, 
since the supposed request of the rich man, was 
fully answered, by our Lord's raising another, and 
a real Lazarus, from the dead. But what was the 
consequence ? Did this notorious miracle convince 
the rich maivs brethren r No, truly. His visit to 
them from the dead, was so far from convincing 
them, that they actually consulted togetlier, tliat they 
might put Lazarus also to death; because that by reason of 
him, many of the Jews icent away and believed on Jesus, 
So much for the true sense of this parable." 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 171 



Parable of the Unjust Judge. 

LUKE XVIII. 2—5. 

<6 There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither 
regarded man : And there was a widow in that city ; and she 
came unto him, saying. Avenge me of mine adversary. And he 
would not for a while : but, afterwards he said within himself, 
Though I fear not God, nor regard man, Yet, because this 
widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual 
coming she weary me." 

Dr. Campbell remarks, on ver. 1 of this chapter^ 
that " the words are a continuation of the discourse 
related in the preceding chapter, which is here 
rather inopportunely interrupted, by the divisions 
into chapters." (Note on Luke xviii. 1) Jesus had 
been relating the persecutions his disciples must 
suffer, and the troubles in which the whole land of 
Judea would be involved, at the time of the des- 
truction of Jerusalem. This event was truly de- 
sirable to them, as it would free them from the per- 
secutions of the Jews, their bitterest enemies. The 
disciples knew full well that this event must hap- 
pen, according to the predictions of their Lord; but 
as several years were to elapse before it would 
transpire, they would grow impatient and despond- 
ing. This parable, therefore, is spoken to them. 
" And he spake a parable unto them," i. e. the dis- 
ciples. And his object in speaking the parable is 
plainly stated in ver. 1, viz. to show " that men 
ought always to pray, and not to faint." This du- 
ty of great frequency in prayer is inculcated in oth- 
er parts of the Scriptures. In Rom. xii. 12, the 
christians are urged to continue instant in prayer. 



172 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

So in Luke xxi. 36. "Watch ye. therefore, and 
pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to 
escape all these things that shall come to pass, and 
and before the son of man." meaning at his 
cominsr to destroy the Jewish state. The habit of 
the christians in frequent prayer, is referred to, 
Acts. xii. 5. " Peter therefore was kept in prison ; 
but prayer was made without ceasing of the church 
unto God for him. 71 1 Thes. v. 17." •• Pray with- 
out ceasing.* 1 Coll. iv. 2. "Continue in prayer, 
and watch in the same with thanksgiving." All 
these expressions mean only great frequency in 
prayer Here Jesus designs 

to show his followers, that there was danger of 
their becoming impatient and weary under the per- 
ns they suffered, and would suppose that he 
delayed his coming. In agreement with this, we 
find they did repine that the coi ing : Jesus did 
not take place - soon as they expected. Paul bids 
the Corinthians u wait for the coming of the Lord 
- t .->:." 1 [ ;\ 1. 7. Jesus, i ibingthe 

persecutions his disciples would suffer, bids them in 
patience to possess their souls. Luke xxi. 19. Paul 
says to the Thessalpnians, ** the Lord direct your 
hearts into the love of God. and into the patient 
--.' 9 Thess. hi 5. It is said to the 
Hebrews. ** ye have need of patience, that after ye 
have done the will of God. ye might receive the 
ise. Per yet a little while, and he that shall 
come will come, and will not tarry.'* Heb. x. 36. 
37. To the same purport is the advice given by 
James. -Be patient therefore brethren, unto the 
coming ol the Lord. Behold, the husbandman wait- 
er the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long 
patience for it. until ne receive the early and the 
latter rain. Be ye also patient ; establish your 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. ]73 

hearts; for the coming' of the Lord draweth nigh." 
James 7, 8. Jesus foresaw that his disciples would 
very naturally become discouraged and faint ; and 
he uttered the parable before us to show " that 
men ought always to pray and not to faint." 

" There was in a city a judge, which feared not 
God, neither regarded man;" i. e. these circum- 
stances were conjectured ; as though the Saviour 
had said, we will suppose there was in a certain 
city such a judge. The Saviour ascribes to him a 
highly daring character; u he feared not God, 
neither regarded man." " And there was a widow 
in that city, and she came unto him saying, avenge 
me of mine adversary," The word here rendered 
avenge, would more properly be translated in this 
place, do me justice, that is, against my adversary. 
The juxlge, not being moved by any motives of 
compassion or faithfulness, delayed to grant her 
request; u but afterward he said within himself, 
though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because 
this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, (obtain 
for her justice) lest by her continual coming she 
weary me." Such was his motive; not to do good 
to the afflicted and oppressed, but to get rid of trou- 
ble ; for this reason he granted her request, and 
gave her case adjudication. Here the parable 
ends, and the Saviour in the next place, proceeds 
to make the application, for the purpose of infusing 
encouragement into his disciples, and showing them 
a that men ought always to pray and not to faint." 

" Hear what the unjust judge saith;" i. e. consid- 
er this case, meditate upon it. The design of Jesus 
was not to represent God as an unjust judge, who 
grants favors to men only at their earnest entrea- 
ties. The argument was this : If this unjust judge 
would do justice to a woman in answer to her im- 



174 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 






portunity, how reasonable is it to suppose that God 
will see justice done to his own elect, from the 
benevolence and rectitude of his own nature. This 
mode of reasoning was common with Jesus. We 
find an instance of it in the sermon on the mount, 
when he was endeavoring to inspire men with con- 
fidence in God, assuring them that, if they asked, 
they should receive; u for every one thp,t asketh, 
receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him 
that knocketh it shall be opened." Matt. vii. 8. 
Then comes the argument. " What man is there 
of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him 
a stone ? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a 
serpent ?" Matt. vii. 9, 10. There is no such fa- 
ther on earth. Well, if imperfect and sinful men 
are so ready to give favors to their children, how 
much more ready is God to bestow blessings on 
those who ask him ? Or to give the argument in 
the language of the evangelist, " if ye then, being 
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your chil- 
dren, how much more shall your Father which is 
in heaven, give good things to those who ask him?" 
Matt. vii. 11. If then the unjust judge heeded the 
importunity of the widow, how much more reason- 
able was it to suppose, that God would "avenge 
his own elect, which cry every day and night unto 
him, though he bear long with them." ver. 7. 
The elect here spoken of were the early christians, 
who are often called the elect in the scriptures. 
Hence it is said, that at the time of the destruction 
of Jerusalem, Jesus would "gather his elect from 
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the oth- 
er," Matt. xxiv. 31. See also Mark xiii. 20, 22, 27. 
These elect God would avenge, he would see jus- 
tice done to them although he bore long with them, 
i. e. delayed it for some time. " I tell you," says 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 175 

Jesus, in closing the application of the parable, 
"that he will avenge them speedily," to which 
Arch Bishop Newcome adds, by way of explana- 
tion, " by bringing the Roman armies upon the 
Jews their persecutors" (Newcome's Observations.) 
And it is rendered more certain that the true appli- 
cation of the passage is to the destruction of Jeru- 
salem, by the questions which Jesus asks, as fol- 
lows : "Nevertheless, when the son of man cometh, 
shall he find faith on the earth ?" or in the land (of 
Judea) as some translate the passage. Whitby re- 
marks here, "when the son of man comes to ex- 
ercise this vengeance on the Jewish nation, how 
few shall he find in the Jewish nation that will be- 
lieve it ? As for the unbelieving Jews, though 
Christ and his forerunner had told them so frequent- 
ly and plainly of their approaching ruin ; and though 
they had so many signs of it recorded in Josephus, 
he tells us they were still expecting deliverance 
from God. And they among them who believed 
and professed Ihe christian faith, being pressed with 
continual sufferings, began to grow weary and faint 
in their minds, and ask where is the promise of his com- 
ing? Yea, some of them began to forsake the as- 
sembling of the saints, Heb. x. 25, and many of 
them became apostates, and fell back to their old 
Judaism; so that all the epistles directed to them, 
are manifestly designed to keep them stedfast in 
the faith." (Paraphrase and Annot. Note on Luke 
xviii. 8.) Matthew represents Jesus as saying, 
that on account of the afflictions which should pre- 
cede the destruction of Jerusalem, many should be 
offended, and the love of many should wax cold. 
At the time of Christ's coming, he found but little 
faith on the earth. This coming of Christ, it 
should be remembered, was not his personal ap- 



176 NOTES ON THE PARAPBLES. 

pearance, but his gracious interposition in favor of 
his followers, and for the destruction of his 
enemies. 



Parable of the Pharisee and Publican. 

LUKE XVIII. 10—14. 

"Tico men went up into the temple to pray ; the one a Phari- 
see, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed 
thus with himself, God, I thank thee , that I am not as other 
men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publi- 
can. I fi-t twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 
And the piulican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much 
as his eyes unlc heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God 
be merciful tome a sinner. I tell you, This man went down to 
his house justified rather than the other : for every one that ex- 
alteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himself 
shall be exalted." 

This passage is called by the evangelist a para- 
ble, although it partakes but little of the character 
of a parable,, being rather a literal relation of the 
supposed conduct of the Pharisees and publicans. 
The object in stating it is explained in vcr. 9. 
" And he spake this parable unto certain which 
trusted in themselves that they were righteous, 
.and despised others." There is a remarkable con- 
sistency in the characters of these men ; for noth- 
ing could be more reasonably expected, than that 
those should despise others, who had a vain con- 
ceit of their own goodness. Jesus designed tc 
draw the real character of the Pharisees, to contrast them 
with such as they regarded as sinners, and to show that God 
approved the latter in preference to themselves. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. J 77 

u Two men went up into Ihe temple to pray." 
This is a s pposed case — not a real one. The 
temple at Jerusalem was the place where prayers 
were offered. One of these men was a Pharisee, 
the other a publican. The Pharisees were a very 
numerous and influential sect among the Jews. 
They v/ere the principal opposers of Jesus Christ, 
who rebuked them with great familiarity, and 
pointed out their vices in a fearless and faithful 
manner. Although they were supposed by the 
common p ople to possess great sanctity, they were 
grossly hypocritical, and vain, and they did the 
greater part of their religious acts to be seen of 
men. This was their greatest fault. They loved 
the praise of men, and affected a righteousness 
they did not possess, to obtain it. Many of them 
probably supposed themselves to be truly righteous, 
like those mentioned in ver. 9, " who trusted in 
themselves that they were righteous." The publi- 
cans, as we have shown in another place, were 
those who collected the public taxes. They were 
the objects of universal abhorrence among the 
Jews, and were supposed frequently to be guilty of 
great extortion in their exactions from the people. 
These were the characters of the two men who 
went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee 
stood by himself, not stood and prayed by himself, as 
it is the common version. Dr. Campbell renders 
the expression, u the Pharisee, standing by himself, 
prayed thus." This is in perfect agreement with 
the character of a Pharisee. He was afraid of be- 
ing polluted by the touch of the publican ; and for 
this reason the Jews performed their frequent 
washings when they came from the markets, and 
other places of public resort. Mark vii. 4. They 
objected strongly to Jesus, who eat and drank with 
12 



178 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the publicans and sinners, undoubtedly supposing 
that from a respect to his character he ought to 
have declined their company. The sense we have 
put on the phrase here, is justified by ver. 13, 
where we read that the publican stood afar off. 

Let us observe the prayer of the Pharisee, which 
in fact, is not a prayer at all, but merely a declara- 
tion of his own goodness. Instead of praying, he 
boasted. In the first place, he mentioned those 
sins of which he said he was not guilty, as follows : 
u God, I thank thee that I am not as other men 
are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers." Here the 
spirit of the Pharisee is fully displayed. He could 
not think of the publican, without drawing a con- 
trast between him, and himself. For in these 
words, "extortioners, unjust," he evidently alluded 
to the well known character of the publicans for 
extortion and injustice ; and then he immediately 
adds, " or even as this publican." Now whether 
the Pharisee was not guilty of these sins, must de- 
pend solely on his own testimony, as no one else 
haih ever assured us that they were not u extor- 
tioners and unjust." From the description of the 
Pharisees which Jesus gave, we should conclude 
they were guilty of the highest rapacity and injus- 
tice, since he distinctly charges them with devour- 
ing widows' houses, and binding heavy burdens 
and grievous to be borne and laying them on men's 
shoulders. This was their real character ; but the 
Pharisee, in the parable, like all other Pharisees, 
while he could see the failings of others with the 
keenest vision, could not see his own. We will 
now listen to his positive description of himself, 
and see what virtues he has actually performed. 
Hark ! " I fast twiee in the week, I give tythes of 
all that I possess." His prayer, if such it can be 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 179 

called, is ended, and these were the virtues which 
he punctiliously performed. Did he say, Lord, I 
love my neighbor as myself — I do unto others as I 
would have them do unto me — I am kind to the 
distressed and unfortunate? No, the virtues of be- 
nevolence were not very precious in his sight. 
Here was the difference between the religion of 
the Pharisees and the religion of Christ. Their re- 
ligion was a mere round of rites and ceremonies — 
mankind were not happier for it, it did not relieve 
the distressed ; while the religion of Christ, was 
designed to promote " peace on earth, and good 
will towards men." The Pharisee unquestionably 
mentioned what he thought were his best acts ; 
and what were they? Fasting twice in the week, 
and paying tythes. In these, and other iWvolous 
things, the Pharisees were very punctilious ; but 
they fasted to be seen of men, Matt. vi. 16, and 
paid tytheu that they might omit the weightier mat- 
ters of the law, u justice, mercy and faith," Matt. 
xxiii. 23. Their days of fasting were the second 
and fifth of every week, corresponding to our Mon- 
days and Thursdays. 

Let us turn now to the publican. He did not 
boast, nor think himself better than other men. 
He " would not lift up his eyes to heaven, but 
smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a 
sinner^ 7 What a contrast ! a contrast which heigh- 
tens the vanity and ostentation of the Pharisee. In 
the publican we see a pattern of true humility. 
Respectful to the feelings of the Pharisee, who he 
knew would not permit his approach, he stood afar 
off. His is a real prayer. " God be merciful to 
me a sinner." As though he had said, God, I stand 
in need of thy mercy. I pray for a sinner, that 
mercy may be granted him. 1 am that sinner, O 



180 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

God, be merciful to me. I pray for the forgiveness 
of my own offences. 

These were the characters of the Pharisee and 
publican ; and now it is an important question, 
which was justified in the sight of God. Men gen- 
erally would have supposed the Pharisee to possess 
the most religion, who declared so solemnly before 
God that he was not like other men, that he did 
not commit extortion, nor injustice, but fasted 
twice in the week, and parted freely of his sub- 
stance for the support of religion. But Jesus, who 
knew men's hearts, said of the publican, u this man 
went down to his house justified rather than the 
other." 

It is evident that Jesus, in this parable, intended 
to present what men generally regarded as purest 
holiness on the one hand, and extreme wickedness 
on the other. The Pharisees were regarded as 
the mosfc holy people on earth, and the publicans 
as the most wicked. The object of the parable 
before us was to show that the religion of the 
Pharisees was a mere observance of rites and cere- 
monies, which indeed obtained for them the praise 
of men, but not the praise of God, for they were 
destitute of the spirit of pure religion ; while the 
publican, whom every body despised, sensible of 
his sins, and crying for mercy, was justified rather 
than the ostentatious, self-conceited Pharisee. 
The moral deduced from the parable is this : " for 
every one that exalteth himself shall be abused ; 
and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." 
Those who are proud, who in their own estimation 
are above others, who assume a rank in society to 
which their virtues do not entitle them, must be 
abased ; " pride goeth before destruction, and a 
haughty spirit before a fall." But they who are 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 181 

truly humble, who are sensible of their sins, who 
feel their utter dependance upon God, and cry 
unto him for mercy, shall be exalted. Pure and 
undefiled religion is benevolence and humility of 
heart, and uprightness of conduct. Those who 
possess this, even though they neglect what the 
world miscalls religion, will be justified in the sight 
of God. In the parable, the distinction is clearly 
made between spurious and true worship ; and the 
disposition ascribed to the publican is worthy of 
being imbibed by all mankind. 



IS2 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Parable of the laborers in the Vineyard* 

MATT. XX. 1—15. 

"For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is s 
householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labour- 
ers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the la- 
bourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And 
he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle 
in the market-place. And said unto them, Go ye also into the 
vineyard; and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they 
went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth 
hour* and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went 
out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, JVhy 
stand ye here all the day idle! They say unto him, Because no 
man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the 
vineyard ; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So 
when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his 
steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning 
from the last unto the first. And when they came that were 
hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 
But when the first came, they supposed that they should have 
received more; and they likewise received every man a penny* 
And wh»n they had received it, they murmured against the good 
man of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one 
hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us } which have borne 
the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them> 
and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with 
me for a penny : Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will 
give unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to 
do what I will with mine own? is thine eye evil because I am 
good?" 

This parable was designed unquestionably to 
illustrate what is said at the close of chap, xix, viz. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 183 

"Many that are first shall be last, and the last 
shall be first." Dr. Campbell remarks that the 
particle gar with which the parable commences, 
"shows maiiifestly that what follows was spoken 
in illustration of the sentence with which the pre- 
ceding chapter concludes, and which, therefore, 
ought not to have been disjoined from this para- 
ble." 1 The whole connexion belonging to the para- 
ble, expends from chap. xix. 27 to xx. 16, which 
should have been made a chapter by itself. 

The kingdom of heaven is here put for the laws 
and institutions of that kingdom. The dealings of 
God with men in that kingdom, are like the con- 
duct of a householder, who went out early in the 
morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. He 
agreed with several for a penny a day, and sent 
them into his vineyard. This would be thought a 
very small compensation for a day's labor. It 
should be remembered that the piece of money 
here referred to was Roman coin, about the value 
of ten cents. This was the ordinary price of a 
day's labor at that time. See Tobit v. 14. Adam 
Clarke remarks, that "in 1531 the price of labor 
was regulated in England by Parliament ; and it is 
remarkable, that corn weeders and hay makers, 
without meat, drink, or other courtesy demanded, 
were to have one penny per day. In 1314 the pay 
of a chaplain to the Scotch Bishops was three half 
pence per day. See Fleetwood sChronicon Precios, 
p. 143, 129. " 2 This would have been miserable 
wages, had not every thing been cheap in propor- 
tion. The householder went out again about the 
third hour, and saw others standing idle in the 
market place, and he sent them into his vineyard, 
with the assurance that whatever was right he 

* Note on the place. 3 Note on Matt. xx. 2. 



184 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

would give them. u The Jews computed their 
hours of the civil day from six in the morning till 
six in the evening : thus their first hour corres- 
ponded with our seven o'clock, their second to our 
eighth, their third to our nine, &c. ?11 The household- 
er went out about the sixth and ninth hours, and 
sent others into the vineyard. Again, about the 
eleventh hour, five o'clock in the afternoon, he 
went out, [into the market place, see ver. 3] and 
found others standing idle, and saith unto them, 
why stand ye here all the day idle ? The reason 
they assigned was, because no man hath hired us. 
He sent them into his vineyard, with the promise 
that what was right he would pay. It seems to 
have been tne custom for laborers, to go early in 
the morning to the market, and stand there until 
hired ; and the customary hours of working were 
from six in the morning until six in the evening. 2 
We shall now turn from this notice of the cus- 
toms on which the parable was founded, to seek 
the proper application of it. We have already 
stated, that the whole subject connected with this 
parable, extends from chapter xix. 21 to xx. 16, 

i Home's Intro, iii. 161. 

2 This custom remains to the present day in Persia. In the city 
of Hamadan there is a maidan or square in front of a large mosque. 
" Here," says Mr. Morier, i4 we observed ever} morning before the 
sun rose, that a numerous band of peasants were collected with 
spades in their hands, wailing, as they informed us, to be hired by 
the day to work in the surrounding fields. 1 his custom, which I 
have never seen in any other part uf Asia, forcibly struck me as a 
most happy illustration of our Saviour's parable of the laborers in 
the vineyard in the 20th chapter of Matthew, particularly, when 
passing by the same place late in the day, we still found others 
standing idle, and remembered his words, why stand ye here all 
the day idle? as most applicable to their situation : for in putting 
the very same question to them, they answered us, because no one 
hath hired u«," Morier's second Journey through Persia, p. 265. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. ]85 

which should have formed a chapter by itself. 
There is even a remote connexion with circum- 
stances which are narrated farther back in chapter 
xix. than the 27th verse. A young man came to 
Jesus with the question, M Good Master, what good 
thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life ?' J xix. 
16. Jesus answered him in substance, that he must 
keep the law. His reply was, "all these things 
have I kept from my youth up : what lack I yet ?" 
xix. 20, In reply Jesus told him, to sell all that he 
had, and give to the poor. When the young man 
heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had 
great possessions. 22. This drew from the Sa- 
viour the following remark: u a rich man shall 
hardly enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier 
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than 
for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." 
23, 24. This similitude, drawn in the strong east- 
ern manner, was designed to shew the extreme 
difficulty with which the rich in this world's goods, 
were persuaded to leave their possessions, and be- 
come poor and enter the kingdom of Christ, and be- 
come his followers. The young man had just af- 
forded an instance of the truth of tie remark; and 
as to become a follower of Christ, in that persecut- 
ing age, required a sacrifice ol all earthly considera- 
tions, so, of course, it would be more difficult for 
the rich, who were bound to the earth by a thous- 
and ties, to get released from its influences, than 
the poor. When his disciples heard his remark, 
concerning the difficulty with which the rich would 
enter his kingdom, they expressed their surprise 
by saying, " who then can be saved ?** We have 
already given the sense of this phrase, pp. 96, 97. 
Jesus intimated that even such would be convert- 
ed, for although with men this was impossible, 



186 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

"with God all things are possible." Ver. 26. We 
have now arrived at the more immediate context. 
Peter, who had listened to all his Master had said 
to the young man, that he must be willing to part 
with ali his earthly possessions, now breaks out in 
an expression of his own feelings, awd shews what 
thoughts were predominant in his own mind, 
" Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee : 
what shall we have therefore ?" 27. As though 
foe had said, c Lord, we have obeyed thy com 
imands ; we have given up all we had on earth, and 
followed thee; and now what reward are we to 
have?' A question of a similar nature was asked 
3>y some of the disciples on another occasion : "who 
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven ?" Matt, 
xviii. 1. xx. 20. Luke xxii, 24. In both these 
questions, the followers of Christ manifested some 
impatience for their reward ; and evinced a desire 
to be exalted above others, in consequence of their 
services. This ought to be borne in mind, when 
we come to the application of the parable. The 
answer of Jesu to Peter's question was as follows: 
" Verily I say unto you : that ye which have follow- 
ed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man 
shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit 
upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel ;" 28. i. e. in the regeneration, when the Son 
of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye which 
have followed me shall sit on twelve thrones judg- 
ing the twelve tribes of Israel — a figurative expres- 
sion to denote that the apostles would be raised to 
stations of eminence in the church, at the coning 
of Christ.. 1 Furthermore, Jesus said to Peter, 
* c And everyone that hath forsiken 'nouses, or 
brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or 

1 See Dr. Campbell's note on this verse. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 187 

children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall re- 
ceive a hundred fold, and shall inherit everlast- 
ing life." 29. The meaning of the expression, 
u to enter into Z?/e," we have already fully explain- 
ed. See particularly pp. 12, 21, 22. Everlasting 
life was thai state of peace and rest into which the 
believers of the gospel entered, and which the 
church of Christ preeminently enjoyed., when de- 
livered from her persecutors at the coming of 
Christ to destroy the Jewish nation; and this is 
called, in our version, everlasting life from the Greek 
phrase zoen aionion, which is generally, if not in- 
variably, applied to the time of the gospel dispensa- 
tion. See our remarks on Matt. xxv. 46, under 
the parable of the Sheep and Goats, and compare 
also the following passages of scipture : John v. 
24. vi. 47, 54. xvii. 3. Rom. vi. 22. 1 John v. 13. 
In pursuing the context, we have now brought our- 
selves to the last verse of chap. xix. as follows i 
"But many that are first shall be last ; and the last 
shall be first." The apostles, who were the first to 
embrace the gospel, would not receive their reward 
until the last; while those who were last, who did 
not embrace the gospel until alter the apostles, 
should be rewarded first. The apostles did not re- 
ceive their reward until a late peruKU-their pre* 
eminent services exposed them to preeminent dan- 
gers and sufferings, and persecution rage J against 
them longer than any others. The parable of the 
laborers in the vineyard was designed to illustrate 
the fact* here stated, and to reprove the apostles 
for the desire they had manifested to receive great- 
er rewards than should be conlered on others. 
See particularly Mark x. 35, 37. We have already 
shown, that there can be no question that the para- 
ble before us was designed to illustrate what is 



188 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

said xix. 30, u but many that are first shall be last, 
and the last shall be first ;" and this fact is render- 
ed more evident from the circumstance, that im- 
mediately on closing the parable, Jesus adds u so 
the last shall be first, and the first last," as he had 
illustrated in the parable. 

We proceed then to say, that the dealings of God 
with men, in the dispensation of the gospel, were 
like those of a householder, who went out early in 
the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. 
The earliest professors of Christianity, were those 
who went first into the vineyard. Those who sub- 
sequently embraced the gospel, were such as en- 
tered the vineyard later in the day. As the lord 
of the vineyard rewarded all the laborers, so all the 
followers of Christ were assured of their reward ; 
and as the master of the house, in rewarding the 
laborers, began at the last, and proceeded unto the 
first, so some that embraced the gospel at a late 
season, would be rewarded before others who had 
been more conspicuous in their defence of Christi- 
anity. As those who entered first into the vine- 
yard murmured against the good man of the house 
because he gave to each laborer a penny, so the 
disciples were desirous of being exalted above oth- 
ers, in consequence of their labors in the vineyard 
of their Master. 

This, it appears to us, was the original design of 
Jesus in uttering this parable. We are willing to 
admit, however, that it is easily susceptible of an 
application to the Scribes and Pharisees, who mur- 
mured at Jesus Christ, because he received sinners, 
and showed them favor. In fact the words which, 
as we have shown, the parable was designed to 
illustrate, are applied in another place to the Jews. 
See Luke xiii. 28 — 30, where the evangelist de- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 189 

scribes the rejection of the Jews from the kingdom 
of the gospel, and the reception of the Gentiles ; 
when he adds, "and behold there are last that 
shall be first, and there are first that shall be last." 
Here these words signify, that the Jews to whom 
the gospel was first preached, would be the last to 
embrace it ; whereas the Gentiles, to whom it was 
not preached until after it was rejected by the 
Jews, would embrace it first. If we interpret the 
parable to refer to the Pharisees, the application 
cannot be very particular. In that case, we must 
suppose the circumstances to be thrown together 
for the purpose of setting out the envious and mur- 
muring disposition of the Pharisees, who thought 
they had a difficult duty to perform in serving God, 
who claimed a large reward for it, expecting to be 
exalted above others, and who found fault with 
Jesus because he bestowed blessings on all man- 
kind. That such was the disposition of the Phari- 
sees we have sufficiently shown in this work ; and 
their conduct may be well illustrated by that of the 
laborers who murmured against the good man of 
the house, because each one received a penny. 

The same disposition is frequently seen at the 
present day, in those persons who profess to be 
the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. They 
boast that they serve God in this life, while others 
are engaged in the practice of sin ; and they con- 
fidently look forward to the time oi'reckoning, when 
they hope to be distinguished from others, and ex- 
alted above them. If we tell them that at last 
every man will receive a penny, or, in other words, 
that God will raise all men to the enjoyment of 
equal bliss, they are angry ; they murmur against 
those who preach such a doctrine, as the laborers 
murmured against the master of the house ; they 



190 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

complain that they have "borne the burden and 
heat of the day," and maintain that they ought, 
therefore, to receive a greater reward than others 
in the world to come. They declare in substance, 
that if they are to have but one penny, others 
ought not to have so much ; but if others are to re- 
ceive that sum, they ought in all justice to have 
more. Equality is one of the seven things which 
are an abomination to them ; and like the murmur- 
ing laborers they cry out in indignation, "thou 
hast made them equal unto us." They claim an 
exclusive reward on the ground that they have 
wearied themselves to serve God ; they have re- 
sisted the temptations and pleasures of sin, and 
worn the heavy yoke of obedience ; they place 
their claim for a greater reward than others have, 
where the murmuring laborers put theirs, on the 
fact that they u have borne the heat and burden 
jof the day." But the insufficiency of ali their 
claims is very easily perceived. II' they really lov- 
ed God, and loved to serve him, they would not 
call his service a weariness, and a trouble; they 
would not represent the service of sin as easy and 
pleasant ; but they would regard the duty of a 
Christian as Jesus regarded it, when he said, u my 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light," Matt. xi. 30. 
The enjoyments of religion and virtue would be to 
them the richest enjoyments they had on earth ; 
and so far from claiming any other reward for 
walking in the path of wisdom, they would feel 
themselves laid under a debt of gratitude to God, 
for having guided their feet in the way of peace. 
This is the feeling of every true Christian. He 
finds an abundant reward in obedience itself — this 
is his joy, his crown, his heaven. The wicked are 
to him objects of pity, not of envy ; and he prays, 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 191 

not that they may remain wicked and miserable 
forever, but that they may be converted, brought 
to the knowledge of the truth, and made holy and 
happy. He prays God to bless the wicked, ior he 
sees that the good are sufficiently blessed in being 
made good. 

Let us learn from the parable before us, to guard 
against the odious spirit of envy ; to cultivate the 
meek and forgiving spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ ; 
and to govern our actions by that rigid rule of im- 
partiality which distinguishes the divine adminis- 
tration. 



Parable of the Two Sons. 

MATT. XXI. 28—31. 

**A certain man had tivo sons ; and he came to the first, and 
daid, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answered and 
said, I will not; but afterward he repented, and went. And 
he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and 
said, I go, sir ; and went not. Whether of them twain did the 
will of his jatherl They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith 
unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the 
harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." 

This parable is preceded in the narrative of the 
evangelist, by an account of an interview which 
took place between our Lord, and the chief priests 
and the elders. They came unto him with these 
questions, u by what authority doest thou these 
things? and who gave thee this authority?" ver. 23. 
To this Jesus said, " I also will ask you one thing, 
which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by 
what authority I do these things," ver. 24. The 



192 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

question which Jesus asked them was as follows : 
"The baptism of John, whence was it ? from heav- 
en, or of men ?" This inquiry threw them into a 
dilemma, and they could not readily determine 
what answer to return. " And they reasoned with 
themselves, saying, if we shall say, from heaven, 
he will say unto us, why did ye not then believe 
him ? But, if we shall say of men, we fear the peo- 
ple ; for all hold John as a prophet." The dishon- 
esty of these priests and elders is remarkable. 
They either believed that the mission of John was 
of divine authority, or they did not, and whatever 
their opinion was, they might have answered the 
question readily and honestly. But it seems not to 
have occurred to them, that it was best to give a 
direct and sincere answer. They began immediate- 
ly to inquire how an answer would affect them- 
selves ; and after weighing the result, first on the 
one side, and then on the other, they came to the 
conclusion that it was expedient to utter a false- 
hood, and declare that they could not tell. " And 
they answered Jesus, and said, we cannot tell." Je- 
sus then declares, "neither tell I you by what au- 
thority I do these things." Ver. 21. 

After this conversation had taken place, Jesus 
immediately embraced the opportunity to propose 
to them the parable now before us. Although dis- 
posed to ask questions, they had shown themselves 
unwilling to answer a simple question which had 
been just put to them in turn ; whereupon Jesus 
resolved to put a question to them which it was 
probable they would answer, and in answering 
which he foresaw they would condemn themselves. 
" But what think ye ?" said he ; i. e. give me your 
opinion on the subject I am about to lay before you. 
"A certain man had two sons ; and he came to the 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 193 

first and said, son, go work to day in my vineyard. 
He answered and said, I will not ; bat afterward 
he repented and went. And he came to the 
second, and said likewise. And he answered and 
said, I go, sir, and went not. Whether of them 
twain did the will of his father?" They did not 
find any difficulty in answering this question, but 
with great readiness replied, that the son who said 
he would not, but afterwards repented and went 
into his father's vineyard, did the will of his fath- 
er ; i. e. he did that which was the more accepta- 
ble in the sight of his father. Jesus adds, " verily 
I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots 
go into the kingdom of God before you." 

From these circumstances it appears evident, 
that the priests and elders were represented by the 
son who said to his father, "I go, sir, and went not." 

The publicans and harlots were represented by 
the son who said, u I will not, but afterwards re- 
pented and went." 

The design of this parable was to show, that 
those who appear the most ready to do their duty, 
are not always the most faithful in performing it; 
and, on the other hand, that those who make no 
professions of obedience, do sometimes perform it 
more readily and faithfully than others. 

The priests and the elders professed to be the 
people of God ; they alleged that they were his 
children, and that they were ready to do his will ; 
but it was notoriously manifest that they had not 
done it. Like the son who said, I will, but did not, 
so they had declared that they would obey God, 
but had failed altogether in this respect. The 
priests and elders were a peculiarly religious people 
in their own estimation : they attended to all the 
duties of religion, such as praying, fasting, paying 
13 



194 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

tythes and making proselytes ; but the commands 
of God they did not obey. By their professions 
they said they would obey, but their conduct evinc- 
ed that they would not. They said, " if they had 
lived in the days of their fathers, they would not 
have been partakers with them in the blood of the 
prophets ;'• Matt, xxiii. 30, but Jesus told them that 
they proved themselves the sons of those who kill- 
ed the prophets : They had persecuted John ; they 
had persecuted Christ ; and they had proved abun- 
dantly, that their professions were not to be de- 
pended on ; for, as the Saviour remarked, Matt, 
xxiii. 3, u they say and do not." 

The conduct of the publicans and harlots was di- 
rectly contrary to that of the priests and elders. 
They professed nothing, and made no pretensions 
to religion. They were like the son, who said he 
would not go and labor in the vineyard of his fath- 
er. He did not give any encouragement that the 
least service might be expected of him ; neither 
did they put forth any indications that they would 
be likely to embrace the religion of Jesus Christ. 
They however did give attention to the instruc- 
tions of Jesus, and turned to God ; and hence Je- 
sus said to the priests and elders, " the publicans 
and harlots believed him ;" i. e. they regarded 
what John had said concerning the Messiah. Here 
then the case is fairly before the reader. The 
priests and elders were professedly a religious peo- 
ple, and claimed to be regardful of the commands 
of God ; but notwithstanding this they opposed the 
religion which God sent Jesus into the world to 
establish. On the other hand, the publicans and 
harlots laid no claim to be considered religious, and 
from their characters, the world in general would 
have concluded them the last who should be con- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 195 

verted to the religion of Christ ; but like the son 
who said he would not, but afterwards repented 
and went, they, against all their former indications, 
were among the first to enter the kingdom of the 
gospel. " The publicans and the harlots go into 
the kingdom of God before you." Ver. 31. 

There can be no question that what is here stat- 
ed was a fact. This class of people became ex- 
ceedingly fond of the society of Jesus, and listened 
to his instructions with great delight. Matthew 
himself had been a publican. They eat and drank 
with Christ, and he was contemptuously styled by 
the Pharisees, the friend of publicans and sinners. 
Despised as they were by the leading religious 
people of the age, accustomed to reproach and con- 
tumely, they rejoiced to find their cause espoused 
by the great teacher sent from God. His doctrine 
met, and satisfied their desires, and they received 
it with joy. "The common people heard him 
gladly," Markxii. 37. For the proud, the censo- 
rious, the self-righteous — those who thought they 
had gained heaven by their own exertions, and 
who anticipated with fondness the joyful day when 
they should see those they despised suffering the 
fierce displeasure of God — for such the benevolent, 
impartial religion of Jesus had no charms, Such 
people always opposed Christ when he was on 
earth ; and in every age since, those of a kindred 
disposition have hated his doctrine. These are 
the reasons why the publicans and harlots entered 
the kingdom of God before the professedly religious 
Scribes and Pharisees. We learn from this what 
class of people it is, among whom, it may be ex- 
pected, at the present day, the doctrine of the im- 
partial Saviour shall flourish in its purity. 



196 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 



Parable or the Unfaithful Husbandmen. 

MATT. XXI. 33—41. MARK XII. 1—9. LUKE XX. 9—16. 

"There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, 
and hedged it round about* and digged a wine-press in it, and 
built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far 
country : And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent 
his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the 
fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servant*, and beat 
one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent 
other servants more than the first: and they did unto them 
likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying , 
They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saxv the 
son, they said among themselves, This is the heir ; come, let us 
kill him, and let us seize o?i his inheritance. And they caught 
him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When 
the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what ivill he do unto 
those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably de- 
stroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other 
husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their sea- 
sons." — iMatt. xxi. 33 — 41. 

The design of this parable was borrowed in part 
from the prophecy of Isaiah, although it is con- 
siderably extended hy our Lord. Isaiah v. 1,2. It 
was spoken to the chief priests and elders, ver. 23, 
as was the parable which we last noticed. This is 
evident from ver. 33, "Hear another parable;" a 
sure proof that both were delivered to the same 
persons. Let us attend first to (he illustration of 
the terms of the parable, and sexxmd to its true ap- 
plication. 

u There was a certain householder which plant- 
ed a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dig- 






NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 197 

ged a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it 
out to husbandmen, and went into a far country." 
The vineyards of the east were sometimes hedged 
about with thorns, and sometimes enclosed by 
walls. Psalms lxxx. 12. The wine press is repre- 
sented to have been dug in the vineyard. This, 
says Kenrick, " is agreeable to the custom of the 
east, where wine presses are not moveable, as with 
Europeans, but formed by digging hollow places in 
the ground, and surrounding them with mason 
work." 1 The tower was placed so as to overlook 
the whole vineyard, and it was designed not for 
p rposes of security, but of watching, to guard tie 
vineyard from thieves, when the fruit was ripe. 2 
"And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent 
his servants to the husbandmen, that they micrht 
receive the fruits of ft!** The rent of the vineyard 
was paid from the products of it. This was a very 
general custom, as we have illustrated under the 
parable of the " Unjust Steward." 

The means of divine instruction which God from 
time to time had afforded the Jews, are, in the 
parable, represented by a vineyard hedged round 
about, and put in the most perfect order. 

The servants whom the householder sent to the 
husbandmen to receive the fruits of the vineyard, 
represent those whom God had sent, at different 
times, to the house of Israel, to induce them to 

1 Exposition on the passage. 

2 Mr. Buckingham, an eastern traveller of considerable note, re- 
marks, that " in the route between Jerusalem, and the convent of 
St. Elias, he was particularly struck with the appearance of several 
small and detached square towers, in the midst of the vineyards. 
These, his guide informed him, were used as watch towers, whence 
watchmen to this day look out, in order to guard the produce of the 
lands from depredations." 



198 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

bring- forth fruit worthy of the distinguished ad- 
vantages which they had enjoyed. 

These servants were treated with contumely and 
cruelty. Some were beaten, some were stoned, 
and some were slain. Other servants were sent, 
and they were treated in the same maimer. Last 
of all the householder sent his son, and he was 
slain. The application of this can hardly be mis- 
took. All the messengers whom God had sent to 
the house of Israel met with such a reception from 
the Jewish nation, more particularly from their 
priests and elders, and ecclesiastical leaders. They 
shed the blood of the prophets, Matt, xxiii. 30 ; the 
apostles were persecuted in every variety of form ; 
and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Jewish nation 
seized and slew. 

u When the lord of the vineyard cometh, what 
will he do unto these husbandmen r" inquired Je- 
sus. The answer is, " he will miserably destroy 
those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard 
unto other husbandmen, which shall render him 
the fruits in their seasons." 1 This was the late of 

1 Matthew represents this answer to have been made, by the chief 
priests and elders : but Mark (xii. 9) and Luke (xx. 16) represent 
Christ himself as answering the question. Bp. Pearce notices the 
discrepancy without attempting to account for it. 1 he usual opin- 
ion is that the answer was given by Christ, and not the prie.sts and 
elders ; and that the words in Matt, they say unto him, are an in- 
terpolation. This suspicion is confirmed by one or two ancient 
MSS. not having the words. See A. Clarke on Matt. xxi. 41. The sus- 
picion is confirmed also by Luke's account, since there theFhariseeg 
are represented as saying " God forbid," when they heard that the 
lord of the vineyard would destroy the husbandmen, xx. 15. Ken- 
rick says, •"* According to the evangelists Mark and Luke, Jesus 
himself answered the question which he had proposed; and Luke 
adds, "when they," i. e. the priests, M heard it, they said, God for- 
bid.' ' This corresponds perfectly well to the question which ( hrist 
puts to them in 43d verse, which seems to imply that tbey had de- 
nied the propriety of the conclusion which he had made. It is high- 



NOTES OiN THE PARABLES. 1 99 

the house of Israel. They were miserable, and 
they were miserably destroyed. The means of di- 
vine instruction were taken away, and conferred on 
a people who would make good use of them ; or to 
use the words of Christ, in which he himself makes 
a direct application of the parable, "the kingdom 
of God shall be taken from you, and given to a na- 
tion bringing forth the fruits thereof" ver. 43. 

That this is the true application of the parable, 
there seems no room foi doubt. We have shown, 
that our Lord derived the design from Isaiah v. 1, 
2. There the vineyard is expressly said to be 
the house of Israel. The figure is varied but a 
trifle ; and the destruction of the Jews is represent- 
ed by the destrnction of the vineyard, of which the 
walls were broken down, that it lay waste ; it was 
neither pruned nor digged; briars and thorns sprung 
up in it ; and the clouds gave it no rain. 

The object of God in sending his servants to the 
Jews, was to induce them to bring forth fruits wor- 
thy of the distinguished advantages they enjoyed. 
John, the Baptist, told the Pharisees, to "bring forth 
fruits meet for repentance," Matt. iii. 8. This is 
very well represented by the master s sending his 
servants to the husbandmen, to receive the fruits 
of the vineyard. 

The chief priests and elders saw plainly that they 
were intended as the husbandmen who had the 
charge of the vineyard, and who had behaved so 
unfaithfully in maltreating the messengors of God. 
See verse 45. u And when the chief priests and 
Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that 

\y probable, therefore, from these circumstances, that the words, 
they say unto him, have been introduced into this place by some 
mistake, a conjecture which is confirmed by the authority of one 
manuscript copy of the originnl, which omits them. 3 ' Fsote on 
Matt, xxl 41. 



200 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

he spake of them." And then, as though to verify 
that to which they took such strong exceptions, 
"they sought to lay hands on Jesus, but they fear- 
ed the multitude, because they took him for a 
prophet." Ver. 46. They then stood ready to 
seize the heir and kill him, but they were afraid of 
the people, who had been instructed by Jesus, and 
in whose affections he held a high place. They 
never, however, abandoned their object ; and af- 
terwards they succeeded in slaying him. 

The coming of Christ in his glory, at the end of 
the legal dispensation, is represented by the lord of 
the vineyard's returning to his household; at which 
time the Jews, the enemies of Jesus, who shed the 
blood of the prophets and apostles, arid crucified 
Jesus Christ, were destroyed, as will be shown 
more fully under a succeeding parable. The words 
of Jesus, recorded in Matt, xxiii. 34 — 36, illustrate 
this. " Wherefore, behold I send unto you prophets, 
and wise men, and scribes ; and some of them ye 
shall kill and crucify, and some of them shall ye 
scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them 
from city to city : That upon you may come all the 
righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the 
blood of righteous Abel unto the blood ot Zacharias, 
son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the tem- 
ple and the altar. Verily, I say unto you, All these 
things shall come upon this generation." Their 
guilt in destroying the different messengers whom 
God had sent, is here desciibed, and the punish- 
ment thereof is denounced ; and all this we are as- 
sured should come upon that generation. Hence, 
the Jews were destroyed dunng that generation. The 
kingdom of God, which till the death of Christ, had 
been preached only to them, was afterward preach- 
ed to the Gentiles, according to the last command 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 201 

Jesus gave his apostles, as follows: u Go ye into 
all the world and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture*" Markxvi. 15. These were the nations who 
were to bring forth the fruits oi* it ; and they did 
bring forth the fruits of it. It was established 
among them; and has had an amazing influence, in 
turning them from darkness to light, and from the 
power of sin and satan unto God. 

Jesus quotes to the chief priests and elders a say- 
ing of David, recorded Psalms cxviii. 22; " the 
stone which the builders rejected, the same is he- 
come the head stone of the corner." From this he 
draws a very forcible figure, see ver. 44. u And 
whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; 
but on whomsoever it shall Jail, it shall grind him 
to powder." The Jews had then already fallen on 
that stone, (Christ) and it was afterwards to fall on 
them. Paul says, Rom. ix. 32, "they stumbled at 
that stumbling stone." A person may be injured 
by falling on a stone ; but if that stone fall on him, 
the injury must be much greater. The tremen- 
dous judgments in which Jesus descended upon the 
Jews, are represented by the stone falling on them, 
which was to grind them to powder. They may 
be said, almost literally, to have been ground to 
powder. The nation was destroyed ; and the dif- 
ferent individuals of which it was composed, were 
driven, as it were, by the winds of heaven, into 
every corner of the earth. The punishment was 
great, but it was just ; it was commensurate to their 
great wickedness. Their eyes had been shut 
against the light of truth ; the most iaithlul coun- 
sels they had set at naught ; the messengers of 
God they had stoned, and his Son they h«.d slain. 
The judgments of God fell upon them; and they 
were ground to powder beneath their force. 



202 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Parable of the Marriage Feast. 

MATT. XXII. 2—13. 

"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which 
made a marriage for his son. And sent forth his servants to 
call them that were bidden to the wedding : and they would not 
come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which 
are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my 
fallings are killed, and all things are ready ; come unto the 
marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one 
to his farm, another to his merchandise. And the remnant took 
his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slevj them. But 
when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth 
his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and binned up their 
city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but 
they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into 
the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the mar- 
riage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gath- 
ered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: 
and the wedding was furnished ivith guests. And when the 
king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had 
not on a wedding g arm ant : And he saith unto him, Friend, 
hoiv earnest thou in hither, not having a wedding-garment? And 
he teas speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind 
him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer 
darkness : there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 

It will be perceived, by a reference to the com- 
mencement of this chapter, that the same subject 
is continued which occupies so large a part of the 
preceding-, viz : the rejection and destruction of 
the Jews, and the reception of the Gentiles into the 
kingdom of God. See ver. 1: "And Jesus an- 
swered and spake unto thtm again by parables." 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 203 

The parable now before us was addressed to the 
same people to whom the two parables in chap, 
xxi had been addressed. Compare xxi. 23, 45, 46, 
and xxii. 1. And that the parable before us was 
designed to illustrate more fully what had been 
taught in the two preceding parables, is proved by 
a comparison of xxi. 35 — 39, with xxii. 6, and xxi. 
41, with xxii. 7. Jesus having said to the chief 
priests and elders, xxi. 43, iC the kingdom of God 
shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing 
forth the fruits thereof" he designs- in the parable 
before us, to show the welcome reception which 
the gospel would meet among the Gentiles. What 
is said in vers. 1 1 — 13 is rather an appendix to the 
parable, to show that those who professed to em- 
brace the gospel, if they were not clad in the pro- 
per chistian virtues, would be detected, exposed 
and punished. 

The parable of the u marriage feast," like that 
of the ten virgins, Matt, xxv. 1 — 13, is founded upon 
the customs of the Jews, at their weddings. One 
of their most indispensable customs was that of 
furnishing a feast, or feasts, at a marriage; and if 
the parties were wealthy, the feasts continued 
seven days, as will appear from Judges xiv. 10, 12, 
17. Hence, many commentators render the pas- 
sage, u the kingdom of heaven is like unto a cer- 
tain king, who made a marriage feast for his son;" 
and several instances are given from the classics, 
where gamous is used to signify marriage festivals. 
Tha: a marriage festival is intended in the case 
before us, is evident from ver. 4. This, as we 
have said, was an indispensable part of the nuptial 
ceremonies. The guests who were invited to the 
marriage, were expected to be dressed in a manner 
suited to the splendor of such an occasion. Among 



204 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 



the Orientals long while robes were worn at public 
festivals; and those who appeared on such occa- 
sions with any other garments, were esteemed 
highly culpable, unci sometimes worthy of punish- 
ment. The person who invit< d the guests prepared 
such a garment for each, for the time being ; with 
which he was furnished on his application to the 
ruler of the feast. It is supposed the prophet re- 
fers to this practice, when he says, (t For the Lord 
hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. 
And it shall come to pass in the day of the Lord's 
sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the 
kings children, and all such as are clothed with strange 
apparel." Zeph. i. 7,8. Dr. Hammond remarks, 
that there was a garment which was customary at 
marriage feasts, called encluma gamou, (the same 
phrase found in the parable) and he quotes from 
several authors in proof. He adds, that this gar- 
ment was considered so necessary that without it, 
even they who were invited to the wedding, were 
not permitted to remain 1 Bishop Pearce remarks, 
that " mention is made of such a garment by hea- 
then writers: for Aristophanes in Avib v. 1692, 
speaks of a wedding garment, and Eustathius, in his 
note upon Horn. Odyss. z. 28, has these words, it 
was a custom for the bride to make presents of garments to 
the people belonging to the bridegroom at the time of the 
tveMing. We learn from Cic. Orat. in Vatin. c. xiii. 
that a white habit was commonly worn at feasts, 
among Romans. Cum ipse epulidominus, Q. Arrius % 
albatus essetS 2 

It seems necessary farther to remark, in regard 
to eastern marri iges, that they were generally 
solemnized in the evening. After the connubial 

ir'ara. and Annot. on Matt. xxi. 2. 
2 Coin, on Matt. xxii. 11. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 205 

union was ratified and attested, and the religious 
parts of it concluded, it was customary for the 
bridegroom, among the Jews, as well as among the 
Greeks and Romans, to conduct his spouse in the 
evening from her friends to her new abode, with 
all the pomp, brilliancy and joy that could be man- 
isfested. On the arrival the marriage feasting 
commenced, in apartments splendidly lighted, 
which formed the greatest possible contrast to the 
darkness that prevailed without. Nothing could 
exceed the elegance of these scenes. The couches 
on which the guests reclined — the sparkling orna- 
ments of the women — the uniformity in the dress 
of the company — the long white robes in which 
they were clad — the effulgent light of the hall — all 
conspired to give the occasion a brilliancy surpass- 
ing description. With these preliminary observa- 
tions, we proceed to ascertain the true application 
of the parable. 

1. What is meant by the "marriage feast"? 
See Notes on the parable of the Supper, pp. Ill, 
112. u Under the image of an invitation to a feast, 
Christ represents the offer of the gospel to the Jews. 
This contained the choicest blessings which God 
had to bestow, and might be fitly compared to the 
dainties of a feast upon a most joyful occasion, 
the marriage of a son.' 3 

2. Who were those first bidden to the wedding, 
but refused to come? There cannot be a question 
that the Jews are here intended. This ig a con- 
struction on which we believe all commentators 
agree. They, first of all men, were invited to re- 
ceive the gospel. The apostles were directed not 
to enter into any city of the Samaritans, but to 
"go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Isra- 

1 Kenrick's Expos, on Matt. xxii. 2. 



206 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

el." Matt. x. 5, 6. See also Matt. xv. 24. Paul 
said to the Jews, " It was necessary that the word 
of God should first have been spoken to you." 
Acts xiii. 46. The command to preach the gospel 
to the Gentile nations was not given until after 
the resurrection of Christ. Mark xvi. 15. The 
Jews had been frequently invited to partake of 
this feast; first by the prophets, afterwards by 
John theB ptist, then by the apostles and by Jesus 
himself. They made light of these invitations. 
In the parable of the Supper, (see p. 113 of this 
work) one begged to be excused for he had bought 
a piece of ground; another, for he had purchased 
a yoke of oxen; and a third, because he had mar- 
ried a wife. So here it is said, one went to his 
farm, another to his merchandise. In this way 
the Jews made light of God's invitation. They 
considered it of greater importance to attend to 
their secular concerns, than to comply with it. 
Because Christ and the apostles pressed this sub- 
ject upon their attention, they were enraged, and 
sought to destroy them. In the words of the par- 
able, they took these servants of God, "and en- 
treated them spitefully, and clew them." For God 
to send the gospel to the Jews before any people 
upon earth, was an evidence of his regard; but to 
meet it with such trifling excuses as the Jews did, 
and moreover to slay the messengers who brought 
it to them, was a high offence, well worthy of the 
signal punishment they suffered. This punishment 
is described in ver. 7. " But when the king heard 
thereof, he was wroth; and he sent forth his armies, 
and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up tluir 
c%." This verse marks very distinctly, and be- 
yond dispute, the true application of the parable. 
The punishment the Jews were to suffer for their 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 207 

rejection of Christ, was their own destruction, and 
the destruction of their city, by the Roman armies, 
about forty years after this parable was spoken. 
So say commentators of all denominations. Whit- 
by says, u upon their refusal God decreed to send 
the Romans to destroy the Jews, and burn their 
temple, and their city: which they so fully per- 
formed as to destroy, during those wars, saith Jo- 
sephus, eleven hundred thousand Jews, to burn their 
Temple, consume, and so long waste their city, as 
that all men conceived, it never could be built 
again." 1 With this Kenrick, Bishop Pearce, and 
all the principal commentators agree. Thus the 
Jews proved themselves unworthy the u marriage 
feast;" as it is said in the 8th verse, "but they 
which were bidden were not worthy" The Jews 
judged themselves unworthy, as Paul told them at 
Antioch. " It was necessary that the word of God 
should first have been spoken to you; but seeing 
ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy 
of everlasting life, (which all who believed in Christ 
then enjoyed, see John v 24,) lo we turn to the Gen-,, 
tiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, 
(in Isaiah xlix. 6) I have set thee to be a light of 
the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation 
unto the ends of the earth." Acts xiii. 46. 47. 

3. Who were those afterward bidden to the 
"marriage feast"? See the Notes on the parable 
of the Supper, pp. 113, 114. Those who embraced 
the gospel of Christ on its rejection by the Jews, 
were the Gentiles. There were, it is true, a few 
of the Jewish nation who were converted to 
Christ ; but the wedding may be said to have been 
furnished with guests from among the Gentiles, as 
the passage just quoted from Acts shows. The 

1 Com. on Matt. xxii. 7. 



208 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

servants of Christ went out through all the world. 
Tiiey went into the highways, the lanes, the 
streets, the markets, and all places of public resort, 
and preached the gospel to mankind. They met 
with great success. Before the destruction of Je- 
rusalem, the gospel had been preached to all na- 
tions, and great multitudes had become obedient 
unto the faith. Thus the wedding was furnished 
with guests. 

It should be very distinctly remarked, that the 
servants " gathered together all as many as they 
found, both bad and good." This shows that Jesus 
foresaw that some unworthy professors would claim 
to be members of his kingdom, or guests at the 
marriage feast, a fact which is stated in several of 
the parables. In one we find that the " wheat and 
chatf' are mingled together; Matt. hi. 12; in 
another the tares and the wheat ; xiii. 30 ; the net 
that was cast into the sea gathered of every kind ; 
xiii. 48. Many would say, "Lord, Lord," that 
would not do the will of their Father in heaven; they 
would pretend that they had prophesied in the 
name of Christ, in his name cast out devils, and 
done many wonderful works. He would reply to 
them, " I never knew you, depart from me ye that 
work iniquity." vii. 21 — 23. Let these facts be 
remembered, while we pass to the consideration of 
the guest who had not on the " wedding garment." 

4. Who were signified by the guest that had not 
on the "wedding garment"? "When the king 
came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who 
had not a wedding garment. And he said unto 
him, Friend, how earnest thou in hither, not hav- 
ing a wedding garment ? And he was speechless." 
The persons assembled on this occasion, were col- 
lected together from the highways, and must, 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 209 

therefore, have consisted of poor, as well as of 
rich. Hence it may appear strange that the 
king should ask one of the guests, with surprise 
and displeasure, how he came there without a 
wedding garment, and punish him with so much 
severity for not having one, when his poverty 
might have been so reasonably urged in his de- 
fence, as an excuse for his dress. This difficulty 
is removed when we consider the customs of the 
eastern nations, whose wealth consisted very much 
in possessing large collections of dresses. Hence 
it is, says Kenrick, " that when our Lord speaks of 
laying up treasures on earth, he says, c that the 
moth may corrupt,' Matt. vi. 20, plainly alluding to 
clothes." From these dresses, or from others col- 
lected on the occasion, it was customary, as we 
have said, to furnish the guests at marriage festi- 
vals ; and as one was offered to each person, this 
man was highly blameable for appearing in his 
common dress ; as he thereby offered an indignity 
to the person who invited him. He was thus left 
without excuse, as he might have been clad in 
the c wedding garment,' had he seen fit. 

By the guest without the c wedding garment,' we 
are disposed to think Jesus designed to represent 
such of the Jews, as having nominally embraced 
Christianity, did not possess the virtues of the 
Christian character — such as cried Lord, Lord, but 
did not the will of God. Notwithstanding the Jews 
generally rejected the gospel, and made light of the 
invitation to the 'marriage feast,' some of them, it 
is well known, went in with the Gentiles, and were 
guests. But not ail those that went in were fit 
subjects of the kingdom. There were some claim^ 
ing to be Christ's disciples, who professed to cast 
out devils, and do many wondertul works in We 
14 



210 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

name, to whom he said, in the day of his coming 
to destroy the Jews, u I never knew you, depart 
from me, ye that work iniquity." Matt. vii. 21 — 23. 
These, we think, were represented by the guest 
without the 'wedding garment.' He accepted the 
invitation to the feast, and mixed with the approv- 
ed guests ; and was detected, exposed and punish- 
ed because he was not arrayed in the dre^s he 
should have worn at the feast. The order was 
given to the servants, to " bind him hand and foot, 
and take him away, and cast him into outer dark- 
ness ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth." This was the fate which awaited alTthe 
Jews who rejected Jesus Christ. Matt. viii. 12. 
Luke xiii. 28. It was the fate of those represented 
by the tares, in the parable of the " tares of the 
field," Matt. xiii. 42; of the wicked, represented 
by the bad fish, which were took in the net, xiii. 
50; of the unfaithful servant, Matt. xxiv. 51 ; and 
of the unprofitable servant, Matt. xxv. 30. In the 
opinion we have here expressed, that the man 
without the c wedding garment' represented those 
Jews who had professed to embrace Christ, but 
were not worthy and faithful disciples, we coincide 
with Dr. Whitby, to whose observations, which 
here follow, we invite the attention of the reader. 
" That this man must represent the Jews is evi- 
dent, 1st, Because he is cast into outer darkness, 
where is weeping and gnashing of teeth, which Christ 
applies to the Jews, the sons of the kingdom, Matt, 
viii. 12, Luke xiii. 28, whilst the Gentiles are said 
to come to this supper. 2d, Because the reason 
assigned for this punishment is that many are called, 
but few are chosen, ver. 14, which language belongs 
peculiarly to the Jews. 3d, Christ said in the form- 
er chapter, that the kingdom of God should be taken 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. gn 

from them; and here proceeding to discourse of the 
same thing, as appears from the connective par- 
ticle, ver. 1 of this chapter, he shews how worthy 
the Jews would he of this punishment, as being 
either wholly refractory to God, calling them by 
his Son to the participation of these blessings, or 
coming without due preparation, as the false apos- 
tles and deceitful workers did, or else by casting 
off that wedding garment they had once put on, ay 
did those Jews whose charity waxed cold, Matt, 
xxiv. 10 — 12., and who being scandalized fell off 
from the Christian faith : it remains then that these 
backsliders, or these false apostles, must be the 
persons represented by the man not having on his 
wedding garment.'- 1 

Previously to bringing the notes on this parable 
to a close, we wish to offer a few observations in 
illustration of the phrases " outer darkness, 5 '' and 
" weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth." These 
expressions are found in the following passages, 
Matt. viii. 12, xiii. 42,50, xxii. 13, xxiv. 51, xxv. 
SO. Luke xiii. 28, The expression " outer dark- 
ness, 7 ' is derived from the circumstances of Jewish 
weddings. The nuptial ceremonies took place at 
night. u Hence at those suppers the house of re- 
ception was filled with lights, called dades, lampades, 
lukneia, phanoi, torches, lamps, candles and lan- 
thorns, by Athenseus and Plutarch : so they who 
were admitted to the banquet, had the benefit of 
the light; but they who were shut out were in 
darkness, i. e. the darkness on the outside of the 
house, in which the guests were ; which must have 
appeared more abundantly gloomy, when compar- 
ed with the profusion of light within the guest 
chamber." 2 The phrase outer darkness was derived 

j Com. note on Matt. xxii. 11. 

2 Adam Clark«'i Commentary, on Matt. viii. 12. 



212 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

from these circumstances ; and as those who were 
thrust out, were not only exposed to shame, but 
also to hunger and cold, it is said they wept and 
gnashed their teeth. These expressions have 
long been applied to the imagined misei*y of the 
damned in hell, in the future world. We l>ave en- 
deavored to give their primitive sense. They are 
a part of the parable, and are to be understood as 
representing the extreme misery of the Jews, ex- 
cluded from the kingdom of the gospel, shut out 
from the light of truth, enveloped in the darkness of 
error, and suffering the tremendous misery brought 
upon them at the destruction of their city and na- 
tion. This is not only their primitive, but their 
only application. If this was the sense Jesus affix- 
ed to them, what right have the Doctors of the 
church to give them any other sense ? The para- 
ble now under consideration was completely fulfill- 
ed within fifty years after the Saviour's death ; and 
there is no reason that any part of it should, be 
supposed to refer to the events of the future exist- 
ence. The words of the great Teacher should be 
interpreted with the greatest caution ; their original 
meaning should be sought ; and when this is as- 
certained, it should not be put aside, or caused to 
share credence, with any secondary sense what- 
soever. " Whoso readeth let him understand." 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 213 

Parable of the Ten Virgins. 

MATTHEW XXV. 1—13. LUKE XII. 35—37. 

""Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten vir- 
gins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bride- 
groom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with 
them : But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom 
cometh ; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, 
and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, 
Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise 
answered, saying, Not so ; lest there be not enough for us and 
you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they 
that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the 
door was shut. Afterwards came also other virgins, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily, I 
say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know 
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." 
Matt. xxv. 1—13. 

This parable refers to the same time and events 
which occupy the preceding chapter. The remark 
of Kenrick is very just : " The word then with 
which this parable begins, shows that our Lord is 
still speaking upon the same subject about which 
he had been discoursing in the last chapter, viz. 
the period of the destruction of Jerusalem." 1 To 
the same purport is the comment of Bishop Pearce. 
" l Then shall the kingdom of heaven,' i. e. at that 
time, and under those circumstances. This shews, 

1 Exposition, on Matt. xxv. 1. 



214 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

that Jesus, in this chapter, is speaking on the same 
subject as in the foregoing one, viz. what was to 

happen at the destruction of the Jewish stite." 
And again, on ver. 13, the Bishop says, "this plainly 
shews, that what was said before in this chapter, 
relates to the destruction of the Jewish state, ex- 
pressed by the Son of man's coming, as in chap. xvi. 
27. 28. "* On the connexion of the twenty-fifth with 
the twenty-fourth chapter we remark no further here, 
as it must be brought up again in the Notes on the 
parable of the Sheep and Goats. 

The parable before us. is evidently drawn from 
the nuptial ceremonies of the eastern nations. It 
was a custom with them, for the bridegroom to re- 
pair, on the night of the marriage, with great 
pom]), to the house ot the bride, accompanied by 
his attendants, for the purpose of receiving the 
nuptial benediction, and conducting the bride to 
his own mansion. •• Four persons walked before 
him, carrying a canopy, supported by i'oir poles, 
that if the bride intended to walk home to the 
bridegroom's house after the ceremony, she might 
walk under it in company with her husband." 2 On 
arriving at the residence of the bride, it was usual 
for her neighbors and friends, particularly young 
women, to welcome his approach, by going out to 
meet him with torches, or lamps in their hands. 
Lightfoot remarks 3 that they carried before them 
ten wooden staves, having each of them at top a 
vessel like a dish, in which was a piece ot' cloth or 
wick, dipped in oil, to give light to the company. 
" For this act of civility they were rewarded, if 
they came in time, with the honor of being admit- 

i Commentary on Matt. xxv. 1 and 13. 
2 Brown's Antiq. of Jews, Part xi. sec. 2 
s Heb. and Talm. Exer. on Matt. xxv. 1. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 215 

ted to the marriage feast, which was always held at 
night." 1 It will appear perfectly evident from this 
relation, that the parable is founded altogether on 
the events of an eastern marriage. There were 
ten virgins who took their lamps, and went forth 
to meet the bridegroom. Five are represented as 
having been wise, because they were prepared for 
the coming of the bridegroom ; the other five were 
foolish, because they were not prepared. The cry 
was made at midnight, ;c go out to meet the bride- 
groom." The wise went out to receive him, and 
went in with him to the marriage ; the foolish 
were excluded, because, not having watched for his 
approach, nor made ready for it, They did not ar- 
rive in season. 2 

1 Kenrick's Expos. Matt. xxv. 1. 

2 The following accounts of eastern weddings will be interesting 
to the reader, and serve to illustrate the parable before us. The first 
tf'see A. Clarke's Commentary on Matt. xxv. 6,) is taken from the 
Zend Avester, vol. ii. p. 558. 

"On the day appointed for the marriage, about 5 o'clock in the 
evening, the bridegroom comes to the bouse of the bride, where the 
mobed, or priest, pronounces for the first time the nuptial benedic- 
tion. He then brings her to his own house, gives her some, refresh- 
ment, and afterwards the assembly of her relatives and friends, re- 
conduct her to her father's house. When she arrives, the mobed 
repeats the nuptial benediction, which is generally done about mid- 
night ; immediately after, the bride, accompanied with a part of her 
attending troop (the rest having returned to their own homes) is re- 
conducted to the house of her husband, where she generally arrives 
about three o'clock in the morning. Nothing can be more brilliant 
than these nuptial solemnities in India. Sometimes the assembly 
consists of not less than 2000 persons, all richly dressed in gold and 
silver tissue ; the friends and relatives of the bride, encompassed 
with their domestics, are all mounted on horses richly harnessed. 
The goods, wardrobe, and even the bed of the bride are carried in 
triumph. The husband, richly mounted and magnificently dressed, 
is accompanied by his friends and relatives, the friends of the bride 
following him in covered carriages. At intervals during the proces- 
iion guns and rockets are fired, and the spectacle is rendered grand 



216 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

It will be hardly possible for the careful reader 
to mistake the true application of this parable. By- 
consulting verse 13 he will perceive that Jesus him- 
self made the application of it. In deducing the 
lesson he meant to enforce, he said, " watch, 
therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the 
hour wherein the Son of man cometh." Compare this 
with verse 42 of chap. xxiv. It is evident, that 
the design of the Saviour was to teach his follow- 
ers watchfulness, in view of his coining to destroy 
the Jewish state. 

The phrase fc kingdom of heaven,' should here be 
understood somewhat as the word ' church' is now 
generally used, viz. to signify the professed follow- 
ers of Christ, They were represented by the vir- 
gins, — those who watched for their master's com- 

beyond description, by a prodigious number of lighted torches , and 
by the sound of a multitude of musical instruments." 

Mr. Ward has given the following description of a Hindoo wed- 
ding, which forms a striking parallel to the parable before us, " At 
a marriage, the procession of which I saw some years ago, the 
bridegroom came from a distance, and the bride lived at Serampore, 
to w 7 hich place the bridegroom was to come by water. After wait- 
ing two or three hours, at length, near midnight, it was announced, 
as if in the very words of scripture, behold the bridegroom cometh, 
go ye out to meet him. All the persons employed new lighted their 
lamps, and ran with them in their hands to fill up their stations in 
the procession ; some of them had lost their lights, and were unpre- 
pared, but it was then too late to seek them, and the cavalcade 
moved forward to the house of the bride, at which place the com- 
pany entered a large and splendidly illuminated area, before the 
house, covered with an awning, where a great multitude of friends, 
dressed in their best apparel, were seated upon mats. The bride- 
groom was carried in the arms of a friend, and placed on a superb 
seat in the midst of the company, where he sat a short time, and 
then went into the house, the door of which was immediately shut, 
and guarded by sepoys. I and others expostulated with the door 
keepers, but in vain. Never was I so struck with our Lord's beau- 
tiful parable, as at this moment — 'and the door was shut.' " Ward's 
view of the History, &c. of the Hindoos, vol. iii. pp. 171, 172. 






NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 217 

ing by the wise virgins, and those who were re- 
gardless of that event by the foolish. Christians 
were too prone, like these virgins, to slumber. 
Paul, in writing to the Romans, endeavored to 
awake them. " It is high time to awake out of 
sleep." Rom. xiii. 11. Addressing the Thessalon- 
ians, the same apostle said, u For yourselves know 
perfectly, that the day of the Lord so cometh as a 
thief in the night. *****•# Therefore, let us 
not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober." 
1 Thess. v. 2, 6. By the coming of the bridegroom 
in splendor, with his attendants, Jesus represented 
his own coming, in his glory, with his angels, or 
messengers, at the destruction of the Jews. As the 
wise virgins entered with the bridegroom to the 
marriage, so the watchful Christians entered into 
the enjoyment of all the blessings which accrued 
to the church from that signal destruction of its 
enemies which took place at the coming of Christ ; 
and as the foolish virgins were excluded from the 
marriage, so the heedless, sleeping professors, who 
did not watch for their Lord, were excluded from 
the blessings which the watchful enjoyed, and 
were sh «t out in darkness and misery with the 
hypocritical Jews, the avowed enemies of Jesus 
Christ. Kenrick 1 will be found to confirm the 
views here advanced. Remarking on verse 13, he 
says, u These last words, as well as what the para- 
ble begins with, shew that it refers to the coming 
of Christ, for the destruction of Jerusalem, and not 
to his coming at the general judgment ; for he con- 
cludes with the same exhortation which he had 
subjoined to the account which he gave, in the 

1 This author believed in a * general judgment,' so called, in the 
future state, and applied the parable of the sheep and goats* Mali* 
xxv. 31 — 46 to that event. 



218 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

former chapter, of the signs of his coming in that 
event: his language there was, ver. 42, c watch, 
therefore, for ye know not what hoar your Lord 
doth corned The intention of the parable is to en- 
force the necessity of watchfulness, by showing the 
distinction which will be made in that day, between 
those by whom it was practi&ed, and those by 
whom it was neglected. The wise virgins, who 
were prepared for the bridegroom when he came, 
and w T ere admitted with him to the marriage feast, 
are sincere Christians, who by the constant prac- 
tice of the duties of piety and virtue, would secure 
his favor, and being always prepared for his com- 
ing, would escape the judgments that were coming 
upon the Jewish nation. The foolish virgins, are 
those who profess themselves Christians, but want 
those substantial virtues which are necessary to re- 
commend them to the favor of Christ, and, when 
he came, would be disowned and rejected by him, 
and suffered to perished with others.' 1 

This is all it is necessary to say on this parable, 
in this place ; since it will be brought forward 
again, in the course of the examination of Matt, 
xxv. 31—46. 

1 Exposition on Matt. xxv. 13. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 219 

Parable of the Unfaithful Servant* 

MATT. XXV. 14—30. LUKE XIX. 11—27. 

"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into afar 
country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them 
his goods. And unto one he gave Jive talents, to another two, 
and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; 
and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received 
the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them 
other jive talents. And likewise he that had received two, he al- 
so gained other two. But he that had received one went and 
digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a long time 
the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 
And so he that had received five talents came, and brought other 
five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents ; 
behold, I have gained besides them five talents more. His lord 
said tent o him, Well done, thou good and faithful, servant; thou 
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler 
over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also 
that had received two talents came, and said, Lord, thou de- 
liveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other 
talents besides them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good 
and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, 
I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy 
of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came, 
and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping 
where thou hast not sown, and gathering to here thou hast not 
strewed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in 
the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered 
and said, unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou 
knewest that I reap where I soioed not, and gathered where I 
have not strewed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my 
money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have 
received mine own with usury, Take therefore the t iltnt from 



220 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

him, and give it unto him ivhich hath ten talents. For unto 
every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance 
but from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that which 
he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer dark- 
ness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." — Matt, 
xxv. 14—30. 

Dr. Campbell remarks, " something (it is not 
said what) is here compared to a man who went 
abroad. This defect is supplied in the common 
version by these words — -the kingdom of heaven is.' 
In my opinion it was originally, the Son of man 
is,' ri This we regard as a very probable conjec- 
ture : or, at any rate, we are confident Jesus in- 
tended to represent himself by the 'man travelling 
into a far country.' 

The different kinds of Christians, to whom dif- 
ferent opportunities of doing good had been given) 
were represented by the several servants, on whom 
different degrees of treasure had been confered. 

The return of the master to reckon with his ser- 
vants, represents the coming of Christ, at the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, to reward, the faithful and 
punish the slothful members of his church. 

The improvement made by the faithful servants 
of the means placed in their hands, and the sloth- 
fulness of him who hid his talent in the earth, rep- 
sent the different kinds of conduct pursued by the 
professing Christians, some of them making a wise 
use of the advantages they enjoyed, and others in- 
dulging in sloth and disobedience. 

The righteous retribution with which Jesus vis- 
ited both faithful and unfaithful professors, is dis- 
played in the manner the servants were dealt with 
on the return of their master. 

A Jew remarks on the particular design of Christ 

* I ON; on ft att xxv. 14. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 221 

in uttering this parable, and such observations as 
will tend to present the different features of it in 
the most striking manner, is all that is necessary 
to be said in this place ; since it will, be brought 
forward again, in the consideration of the succeed- 
ing parable. 

To enforce the duty of faithfulness was the par- 
ticular object which Jesus had in view, as he had 
enjoined that of watchfulness in the parable of the 
virgins. Christians were not allowed to plead that 
they had enjoyed but few advantages, and that it 
was, therefore, excusable in them if they were not 
prepared for the coming of their Lord. Nothing 
more would be required of them than what they 
actually had the power to do. He who had gained 
but two talents was equally praised and rewarded 
with him who had gained five, because he had done 
equally as well, considering the means which had 
been put into his hands. But he to whom one tal- 
ent was given, had not gained any thing ; he was 
slothful and faithless ; he had hid his talent in the 
earth ; and to add to his wickedness, he sought to 
excuse himself by accusing his master. ' To him 
that hath,' i. e, hat much, 'shall be given,' saith 
the Saviour, 'and from him that hath not,' i.e. 
hath but I tile, 'shall be taken even that which he 
hath.' The evident meaning here is, the disciple 
who has many advantages, and improves them 
well, will receive still more ; but he that has 
few advantages, and neglects to improve them, 
shall lose the little which he possesses. 

The master of the servants is described as return- 
ing after a long time. It is certain that the Christ- 
ians grew impatient in expecting the coming of 
Christ. The evil servant, Matt. xxiv. 48, is repre- 
sented assaying, " my lord delayeth his coming." 



222 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

The ten virgins all slumbered and slept while the 
bridegroom tarried. Paul, 2 Thess. iii. 5, recom- 
mends u the jwtient waiting for Christ." James 
saith, chap. v. 7, 8, " Be patient, therefore, breth- 
ren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the 
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the 
earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive 
the early and the latter rain. Be ye also patient ; 
stablish your hearts ; for the coming of the Lord draw- 
eth nigh." Under the grievous persecutions which 
they suffered from the Jews, and which they had 
been promised should expire at the coming of 
Christ, it is not strange that they should become 
impatient ; and while James bids them wait pa- 
tiently for the event, he assures them it is drawing 
nigh ; and the whole strain of his language implies 
that they would live to see the event. 



NOTES OiN THE PARABLES. 223 



Parable of the Sheep and Croats. 

MATT. XXV. 31—46. 

" When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his 
glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he 
shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his 
sheep from the goats : And he shall set the sheep on his right 
hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto 
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 
For I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink: I teas a stranger, and ye took me in : Nak- 
ed, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in 
prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer 
him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed thee? 
or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, 
and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or ivhen saw 
we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King 
shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, Inas- 
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my breth- 
ren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them 
on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels : For I was a hun- 
gered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me 
no drink: J was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, 
and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me 
not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw 
we thee a hungered, or athirst,or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or 
hi prison, and did not minister unto thee ? Then shall he answer 
them, saying, Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not 
to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall 
go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into lift 
eternal." 



224 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

We have now approached a parable, that, for 
many ages, by the almost universal consent of the 
Christian church, has been applied to the events 
which it is supposed will take place at the end of 
time, and in the future state of existence. Not- 
withstanding it has been thus generally misinter- 
preted, the meaning is certainly plain ; and the 
reader would be infallibly led to it by the context, 
were his mind not diverted by prejudice from the 
strain of the Saviour's reasoning, and were he to 
exercise a due degree of caution in the investiga- 
tion. With a proper deference to the general opin- 
ion of divines and commentators, we shall proceed 
with care, assuming nothing which is not evident, 
nor asserting what we do not prove. 

At the very commencement of the parable, the 
Saviour informs us, when those things of which he 
spake were to take place. See verse 31. "When 
the Son of man shall come in las glory, and all the holy 
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne 
of glory," &c. &c. Let the reader now be careful to 
observe, that all which is predicted in this parable 
was to be fulfilled, at the coming of the Son of man in 
his glory. The only inquiry, therefore, necessary 
to make, in order to ascertain when the events of 
this parable took place, is this — when did the Son of 
man come in his glory ? 

In the first place, see Matt. xvi. 27, 28, " For the 
Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his 
angels ; and then he shall reward every man according to 
his works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing 
here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of 
man coming in Ids kingdom." This must be the same 
coming of the Son of man, mentioned in the text. 
In both instances it is a glorious coming ; in both the 
Son of man is accompanied with angels ; and in 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 225 

both, he comes to reward men according to their 
works. There is no room for doubt, that it is the 
same event which is spoken of in both these pass- 
ages. Now notice particularly that the Saviour 
says, "there be some standing here which shall not taste 
of death till they see the Son of man coming in his 
kingdom. 55 To " taste of death, 55 is a Hebraism, 
signifying to die; and hence the meaning of this 
passage is, there be some standing here which 
shall not die, till they see the Son of man coming 
in his kingdom. Here it is evident beyond possi- 
bility of mistake, that the coming of the Son of 
man was to take place, during the natural lives of 
some of those who stood near him at the time he 
uttered these words. Whenever the evangelists 
give an account of this conversation of our Lord 
with his disciples, as to the subject under conside- 
ration, they give it precisely in the same manner. 
See Mark viii. 38, ix. 1, "Whosoever, therefore, shall 
be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and 
sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be 
ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with 
the holy angels. Jlnd he said unto them, Verily, I say 
unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which 
shall not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of 
God come with power" See, also, Luke ix. 26, 27, 
ii For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, 
of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall 
come in his own glory, and in his Father'' s, and of the holy 
angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing 
here, tohich shall not taste of death till [they see the king- 
dom of God." Here, in each instance, the evan- 
gelists have recorded the explicit assurance of Je- 
sus,that his comiug to judge and recompense men ac- 
cording to their works would take place, while some 
of those people lived who stood near him when he 
15 



226 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

spake. What can be more plain than this subject? 

On other occasions, Jesus embraced opportuni- 
ties to impress upon the minds of his disciples, the 
same fact with respect to the coming of the Son of 
man. And in one particular instance, he pointed 
out John, his beloved disciple, as a person who 
should live until his coming took place. The ac- 
count of this is recorded in John xxi. 21 — 23. " Pe- 
ter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall 
this man do ? Jesus saith unto him, if I will that he 
tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? Follow thou 
me. Then went this saying abroad among the 
brethren, that that disciple should not die : yet Je- 
sus said not unto him, he shall not die ; but if I will 
that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ?" 
Agreeably to this account, John lived until after 
the destruction of Jernsalem. Again, in Matt. x. 
23, we have the following words : " But when they 
persecute you in this city, flee yc into another : for 
verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the 
cities of Israel till the Son of man be come" Here is an 
unconditional assurance from the lips of the Sa- 
viour, that, pursued by their angry persecutors, 
the disciples would not traverse all the cities of 
Israel, before the coming of the Son of man took 
place. Now, as every thing predicted in the para- 
ble was to be fulfilled at the time of the coming of 
the Son of man, why ought it to be applied to a day 
of judgment in the future state ? Is not the fulfill- 
ment confined by the words of the Great Teacher, 
to time long ago passed by ? 

But there are other means by which to ascertain 
to what time the Saviour alluded in the parable be- 
fore us. We must consult the connexion in which 
it is found. This, how T ever, is not done because it 
is thought there is any thing invalid in the explana- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 227 

tion and proofs already offered. But as there may- 
be a multitude of proofs brought forward on this 
interesting question, we wish to make the reader 
acquainted, with a fair proportion of them. 

Let it then be understood, that the 24th and 25th 
chapters of Matthew are one discourse, unbroken 
by any thing but the division into chapters and 
verses. This division is comparatively a modern 
invention, carried into effect by uninspired men. 
It is, in some respects, very useful. By the help 
of it, we are enabled to point out a particular sen- 
tence, phrase, or word in any book, refering to the 
chapter and verse in which it may be found ; and 
this we could not conveniently do, without the aid 
of this division. And it is pre-eminently useful in 
the construction of Concordances to the scriptures. 
Cardinal Hugo, we think, has the credit of being 
one of the earliest projectors of the division. While 
we bear testimony to the general utility of it, we 
still believe that the division is, in. some places, 
made where it ought not to be ; but where, on the 
contrary, the closest connexion ought to have been 
preserved. That the 25th chapter of Matthew is 
a continuation of the subject commenced in the 
24th, is evident from the first verse, and even from 
the first word of it. "Then shall the kingdom of 
heaven be likened unto ten virgins." Here it is 
evident the Saviour was refering to time of which 
he had before spoken, and that the things he was 
about to describe were to take place at the same 
time. If not, why is then, theabverb of time, used? 
Let us go back, and examine the context. 1 

l Bishop Pearce, in his Commentary, has maintained, at some 
length, that the subject of the destruction of Jerusalem is continued 
through the twenty-fifth chapter. Here follow his Notes on several 
yerses of that chapter. Verse 1. "Then shall the kingdom, #c* 



228 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

While Jesus was in the temple, he uttered a 
malediction upon the Scribes and Pharisees. 
" Wherefore, beheld I send unto you prophets, and 
wise men, and scribes ; and some of them ye shall 
kill and crucify ; and some of them shall- ye scourge 
in your synagogues, and persecute them from city 
to city : that upon you may come all the righteous 

This shews that Jesus, in this chapter, is speaking on the same sub- 
ject as in the foregoing one., viz. what was to happen at the destruc- 
tion of the Jewish state." Verse 13. u Wherein the Son of man 
cometh. This plainly shews that what was said before in this chap- 
ter, relates to the destruction of the Jewish state, expressed by the 
Son of man's coming, as in chapter xvi. 27, 28." Verse 15. 
•'According to his several ability. The moral of this parable is, 
that Jesus would reward or punish Christians according to their be- 
haviour under the means of grace afforded to them ; and that from 
every one would be required in proportion to what had been 
given to him. And this distinction, made between them, was to be 
made at the time when the Jewish state was to be destroyed." Verse 
31. * c Shall come in his glory, i. e. to destroy the Jewish state. 
See chapter xvi. 27, 28. xxiv. 30. xxvi. 64. Jesus is still giving an 
account of what distinction will then be made between good and 
bad Christians." Verse 34. "The King, i. e. the Son of man then 
in his kingdom. See ch. xvi. 28." 

After all this, when the Bishop comes to verses 41 and 46, he 
thinks Jesus had the day of general judgment in his thoughts. Bp. 
Pearce had that ideal judgment in his thoughts ; and although he 
got nearly through the whole account with a correct interpretation, 
his religious opinions got the advantage of his reason at last. 

Arch Bp. Newcome was confident that the subject of the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem extended into the twenty-fifth chapter. See New- 
come's Observations, note i.i loco. 

Adam Clarke was determined to be right. He made the twenty- 
fifth chapter refer to both events, the destruction of Jerusalem, and 
the judgment in eternity. And when he comes to the 31st verse, he 
most solemnly assures his readers, without giving them a particle of 
proof, that *' this must be understood of Christ's coming at the last 
day, to judge mankind : though all the preceding part of the chapter 
may be applied also to the destruction of Jerusalem." 

The above Notes are not quoted from these authors because we 
have the least doubts of the correctness of the exposition here given, 
but to shew what they felt themselves obliged to acknowledge, with 
all their prepossessions. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 229 

blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of right- 
eous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Bara- 
chias, whom ye slew between the temple and the 
altar." And the Saviour was particular to say in 
addition, " Verily I say unto you, all these things 
shall come upon this generation. Matt, xxiii. 34 — 36. 

Shortly after this, Jesus "departed from the 
temple ;" and, as he sat upon the mount of Olives, 
the disciples came unto him privately, saying, tell 
us ivhen shall these things he ! and what shall be the 
sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" 
Matt. xxiv. 3. When shall what things be ? The 
answer is contained in the second verse. " And Je- 
sus said unto them, see ye not all these thingsV Now 
another question arises, see ye not all what things ? 
Jesus had given indications of the approaching de- 
struction of Jerusalem, particularly of the temple. 
The disciples pointed out to him the buildings of the 
temple, with all their strength and magnificence. 
"Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things ? 
Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here 
one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown 
down." Strong and magnificent as this temple is, 
it shall be levelled with the dust. " When shall 
these things be ?" inquired the prying disciples, "and 
what shall be the sign of thy coming., and of the end 
of the world?" By the end of the world, the disci- 
ples meant the end of the Jewish age. The ex- 
pression in the original, signifies — of the end of the 
age. A great proportion of the most respectable 
translators and commentators render this passage 
in this manner. 1 But the word world may be re- 

l At the head of these I place the renowned Dr. Campbell. He 
renders the expression, " the conclusion of this state," meaning the 
Jewish state. See his Notes on Matt. xiii. 39. xxiv. 3. 

Adam Clarke renders the expression, "end of the age." Ken- 



230 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

tained, if the same sense is given to it here which 
it bears in other parts of the New Testament. For 
instance, in Heb. ix. 26, " But now once in the end 
of the world" or rather worlds, ages, '-'- hath he (Christ) 
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of him- 
self" Christ appeared at the conclusion of the 
age under the law, and it was to the end of this 
age that the disciples had reference in their private 
question to the Saviour. Again, see 1 Cor. x. 11, 
u Now, all these things happened unto them for 
ensamples ; and they are written for our admoni- 
tion, upon whom the ends of the worlds, or ages, are 
come." The ends of the ages had then already 
come. We are to understand the disciples as in- 
quiring, " what shall be the sign of thy coming, and 
of the end of the age." 

Having ascertained the true sense of the disci- 
ples' question, let us observe particularly the Sa- 
viour's answer to it ; taking care to observe that 
throughout his reply he keeps prominently in view, 
his coming, and the end of the Mosaic age, concern- 
ing which they inquired. 

The first sign of hh coming which Jesus pointed 
out was this : " Many shall come in my name say- 
ing, I am Christ, and shall deceive many." Matt, 
xxiv. 5, 11. Comp. Mark xiii. 5, 6. Luke xxi. 8. 
" These false Christs began to appear soon after 
our Lord's death, but they multiplied as the nation- 
al calamit.es increased. Josephus informs us, that 
there were many who pretended to divine inspira- 

rick, in his Exposition, says " the end of the age ;" and observes 
that the expression was synonymous to the coming of Christ. 
Wakefield renders it, " the end of the age :" as do also the Authors 
of the Improved Version ; Bp. Pearce, on Matt. xiii. 40 ; Whitby on 
Matt. xii. 32, and Dr. Hammond on the same passage, with many 
more who might be named. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 231 

tion deceived the people, leading out numbers of 
them into the desert. He does not indeed express- 
ly say that they called themselves the Messiah or 
Christ : yet he says that which is equivalent, viz : 
that they pretended that God would there show 
them the signs of liberty, meaning redemption from 
the Roman yoke, which the Jews expected the 
Messiah would do for them, (compare Luke xxiv, 
21.) Josephus further adds, that an Egyptian 
false prophet led thirty thousand men into the des- 
ert, who were almost entirely cut off by Felix the 
Roman Procurator. 1 The same historian relates 
that in the reign of Claudius, " the land was over- 
run with magicians, seducers, and imposters, who 
drew the people after them in multitudes into soli- 
tudes and deserts, to see the signs and miracles 
which they promised to show by the power of 
God. 2 Felix, and afterwards Festus, governors of 
Judea, judging these proceedings to be the com- 
mencement of rebellion against the Romans, con- 
tinually sent out detachments of soldiers, and de- 
stroyed great numbers of the deluded populace. 
Among these imposters were Dositheus the Samari- 
tan, who affirmed that he was the Christ foretold 
by Moses ; Simon Magus, who said that he appear- 
ed among the Jews as the Son of God ; and Theu- 
das, who pretending to be a prophet, pursuaded 
many of the people to take their goods and follow 
him to the river Jordan, declaring that he was di- 
vinely commissioned, and that at his command the 
waters would be divided, and give them a safe 
passage to the opposite side. 3 Many other exam- 
ples of pretended Messiahs might be adduced ; but 

1 Josephus, de Bell. Jud. lib. 2 c. 13. sec. 4, 5. 
3 Josephus, Ant. Jud. lib. 20. c. 8, sec. 6. 
Ibid. lib. 20 s c. 4, (al. 5) sec. 1. 



232 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the preceding are sufficient to establish the truth 
of our Lord's prediction." 1 — Home's Intro, i. 615. 

Jesus points out the second sign of his coming in 
the following words : " And ye shall hear of wars 
and rumors of wars ; see that ye be not troubled ; 
for all these things must come to pass, but the 
end (of the Mosaic age) is not yet." Matt. xxiv. 
6. Mark xiii. 7. Luke xxi. 9. " These wars and 
commotions were as the distant thunder, that fore- 
bodes approaching storms. Previous to the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, the greatest agitation prevailed 
in the Roman empire, and the struggle for succes- 
sion to the imperial throne was attended by severe 
and bloody conflicts. Four emperors, Nero, Galba, 
Otho, and Vitellius, suffered violent deaths within 
the short space of eighteen months. The emperor 
Caligula commanded the Jews to place his statue 
in their temple ; and in consequence of a positive 
refusal to comply with so impious a request, he 
threatened them with an invasion, which was pre- 
vented by his death. 2 Jesus Christ added, See that 
ye (my disciples) be not troubled, as the Jews will be, 
expecting the approaching destruction of their na- 
tion ; but the end is not yet : these events, alarming 
as they seemed, were only the preludes to the 
dreadful and tumultuous scenes that followed." — 
Home's Intro, i. 615. 

Jesus continues to say, c: For nation shall rise 
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom." 
Matt. xxiv. 7. Mark xiii. 8. Luke xxi. 10. " In 

i In the Rev. David Simpson's Key to the Prophecies there is an 
instructive History of twenty-four false Messiahs, who deluded the 
Jews between the time of the Emperor Adrian and the year of 
Christ 1682. See pp. 133—148. 

2 Joscphus, Autiq. lib. 18. c. 8. (al. 9.) De Bell. Jud. lib. 2. c. 10. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 233 

this prediction Christ declares that greater distur- 
bances than those which happened under Caligula 
would take place in the latter part of Claudius's 
reign, and during that of Nero. The rising of na- 
tion against nation portended the dissensions, insur- 
rections, and mutual slaughter of the Jews, and 
those of other nations, who dwelt in the same 
cities together ; as particularly at Csesarea, 1 where 
the Jews and Syrians contended about the right of 
the city, which contention at length proceeded so 
far, that above twenty thousand Jews were slain, 
and the city was cleared of the Jewish inhabitants. 
At this blow the 2 whole nation of the Jews were 
exasperated, and dividing themselves into parties, 
they burnt and plundered the neighbouring cities 
of the Syrians, and made an immense slaughter of 
the people. The Syrians in revenge destroyed not 
a less number of the Jews, and every city, as 3 Jo- 
sephus expresses it, was divided into two armies. 
At Scythopolis 4 the inhabitants compelled the Jews 
who resided among them to fight against their own 
countrymen ; and after the victory, basely setting 
upon them by night, they murdered above thirteen 
thousand of them, and spoiled their goods. At As- 
calon 5 they killed two thousand five hundred, at 
Ptolemais two thousand, and made not a few pris- 
oners. The Tyrians put many to death and im- 
prisoned more. The people of Gadara did likewise, 
and all the other cities of Syria, in proportion as 
they hated or feared the Jews, At Alexandria 6 the 
old enmity was revived between the Jews and 

1 Josephus, Antiq. lib. 20. cap. 7. sec. 7 &c. De Bell. Jud. lib^ 
2. c 13. sec. 7. c. 18. sec. 1. edit. Hudson. 

2 Ibid. c. 18. sec. 1. 3 Ibid. sec. 2. 

4 Ibid. sec. 3. Vila Joseph, sec. 6. 

5 De Bell. Jud. lib. 2. c. 18. sec. 5. • Ibid. sec. 7. et 8. 



234 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Heathens, and many fell on both sides, to the 
number of fifty thousand. The people of Damas- 
cus 1 too conspired against the Jews of the same 
city, and assaulting them unarmed, killed ten thou- 
sand of them. The rising of kingdom against king- 
dom portended the open wars of different tetrar- 
chies and provinces against one another; as 2 that of 
the Jews who dwelt in Peresa against the people of 
Philadelphia concerning their bounds, while Cus- 
pius Fadus was procurator : and 3 that of the Jews 
and Galileans against the Samaritans, for the mur- 
der of some Galilseans going up to the feast of Je- 
rusalem, while Cumanus was procurator ; and 4 that 
of the whole nation of the Jews against the Romans 
and Agrippa and other allies of the Roman empire, 
which began while Gessius Florus was procurator. 
But as Josephus says, 5 there was not only sedition 
and civil war throughout Judea, but likewise in 
Italy, Otho and Vitellius contending for the em- 
pire.' — Home's Intro, i. 615, 616. 

The third sign of his coming which Jesus pointed 
out, was that of famines and pestilences. u There 
shall be famines and pestilences." Matt. xxiv. 7. 
Mark xiii. 8. Luke xxi. 10. 

" There was a famine predicted by Agabus 
(Acts xi. 28,) which is mentioned by Suetonius, 
Tacitus and Eusebuis 6 and zohich came to pass in the 
days of Claudius Cxsar ; and was so severe at Jeru- 
salem, that (Josephus informs us) many people per- 
ished for want of food. 7 Pestilences are the usual 

i De Bell. Jud. chap. 20. sec. 2. 

2 Joseph. Antiq. lib. 20. c. 1. sec. 1. 

3 Ibid. c. 5. De Bell. Jud. lib. 2. c. 12. sec. 3. &c. 

4 Ibid. c. 17. 5 Ibid. lib. 4. c. 9. sec. 9. 

6 Suetonius, in Claudio, c. 18. Taciti Annales, lib. 12. c. 43. Eu- 
sebius, Hist. Eccl. lib. 2. c. 8. 

1 Antiq. lib. 20. c. 2. sec. 5. (al. 6.) 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 235 

attendants of famines, as scarcity and badness 
of provisions almost always terminate in some epi- 
demical distemper. That Judssa was afflicted with 
pestilence we learn from Josephus ; who says that, 
when one Niger was put to death by the Jewish 
zealots, besides other calamities, he imprecated 
famine and pestilence upon them, " all which im- 
precations God confirmed against these impious 
men." 1 — Hornets Intro, i. 616. 

The fourth sign of his coming which Jesus pointed 
out, was earthquakes. Matt. xxiv. 7. Mark xiii. 8. 
Luke xxi. 11. 

" Earthquakes in prophetic language mean com- 
motions and popular insurrections : if these be in- 
tended, they have already been noticed under the 
second sign ; but if we understand this prophecy, 
literally, of tremors or convulsions of the earth, 
many such occurred at the times to which our 
Lord referred ; particularly one at Crete, in the 
reign of Claudius, and others at Smyrna, Miletus, 
Chios, Samos and other places, in all of which 
Jews were settled. 2 Tacitus mentions one at Rome 
in the same reign, and says, that in the reign of 
Nero, the cities of Laodicsea, Hierapolis, and Colosse 
were overthrown ; and that the celebrated city of 
Pompeii in Campania was overthrown, 3 and almost 
demolished, by an earthquake. 4 And another earth- 
quake at Rome is mentioned by Suetonius as hav- 
ing happened in the reign ofGalba. 555 — Home's Intro* 
i. 616, 617. 

i De Bell. Jud. lib. 4. c. 6. sec. 1. 
2 Philostratus, in Vita Apollonii, lib. 4. c. 34. 
Taciti Annales, lib. 14. c. 27. 

4 Ibid. lib. 15. c. 22. This earthquake is mentioned by Seneca 
Nat. Q,uoest. lib. 6. e. 1. 

5 Suetonius, in Galba, c. 18. 



236 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

The fifth sign of his coming which Jesus pointed 
out, was fearful sights and signs from heaven. 
" Fearful sights and great signs, shall there be from 
heaven." Luke xxi. 11. The fulfilment of this 
prophecy, in the most minute and astonishing man- 
ner, is recorded by profane historians. 

" Many prodigies are related by Josephus; par- 
ticularly that, in Judea, at the commencement of 
the war, and before the siege of Jerusalem by Ti- 
tus, "there broke out a prodigious storm in the 
night, with the utmost violence and very strong 
winds, with the largest showers of rain, with 
continual lightnings, terrible thunderings, and ama- 
zing concussions and bellowings of the earth that 
was in an earthquake. These things were a man- 
ifest indication, that some destruction was coming 
upon men, when the system of this world was 
thrown into such a disorder; and any one would 
guess that these wonders portended some grand 
calamities that were impending." 1 The same his- 
torian, in the preface 2 to his history of the Jewish 
war, undertakes to record the signs and prodigies 
that preceded it: and accordingly in his sixth 
book 3 he enumerates them, thus ; — 1. A star hung 
over the city like a sword, and the comet continued 
for a whole year. 2. The people being assembled 
to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, at the 
ninth hour of the night there shone so great a 
light about the altar and the temple, that it seemed 
to be bright day, and this continued for half an 
hour. 3. At the same feast a cow, led by the 
priest to sacrifice, brought forth a lamb, in the 
middle of the temple. 4. The eastern gate of 
the temple, which was of solid brass and very 

* De Bell. Jud. lib. 4. c. 4. sec. 5. 2 De Bell. Jud. sec. 11 

3 Ibid. lib. 6. c 5. sec. 3. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 237 

heavy, and was scarcely shut in an evening by 
twenty men, and was fastened by strong bars and 
bolts, was seen at the sixth hour of the night 
opened of its own accord, and could hardly be 
shut again. 5. Before the setting of the sun there 
were seen all over the country chariots and 
armies fighting in the clouds, and beseiging cities. 
6. At the feast of Pentecost, as the priests were 
going into the inner temple by night as usual to 
attend their service, they heard first a motion and 
noise, and then a voice as of a multitude, saying, 
Let us depart hence. 7. What Josephus reckons as 
the most horrible of all, one Jesus, an ordinary 
fellow, four years before the war began, and when 
the city was in peace and plenty, came to the feast 
of tabernacles, and ran crying up and down the 
streets day and night, i Jl voice from the east, a voice 
from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against 
Jerusalem and the temple, a voice against the bridegrooms 
and the brides, a voice against all the people.' The 
magistrates endeavored by stripes and torture to 
restrain him; but he still cried with a mournful 
voice, 4 Woe, woe to Jerusalem!' This he continued 
to do for seven years and five months together, and 
especially at the great festivals; and he neither 
grew hoarse, nor was tired; but went about the 
walls and cried with a loud voice, c Woe, woe to the 
city, and to the temple;'' and as he added at last, c Woe, 
woe, also to myself,' it happened that a stone from 
some sling or engine immediately struck him dead. 
These were indeed fearful signs and great sights from 
heaven: and there is not a more creditable historian 
than the author who relates them, and who appeals 
to the testimony of those who heard them. 1 But 

l Mr. Milman has admirably wrought up these portentous signs, 
in his Poem on the Fall of Jerusalem, pp. 106 — 114. 



238 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

it may add some weight to his relation, that Taci- 
tus, the Roman historian, also gives us a summary 
account of the same occurrences. He says, 1 that 
there happened several prodigies, armies were 
seen engaging in the heavens, arms were seen 
glittering, and the temple shone with the sudden 
fire of the clouds, the doors of the temple opened 
suddenly, and a voice greater than human was 
heard, that the gods were departing, and likewise 
a great motion of their departing. Dr. Jortin's re- 
mark is very pertinent, If Christ had not express- 
ly foretold tins, many who gave little heed to por 
tents, and who know that historians have been too 
credulous in that point, would have suspected that 
Josephus exaggerated, and that Tacitus was mis- 
informed : but as the testimonies of Josephus and 
Tacitus confirm the predictions of Christ, so the 
predictions of Christ confirm the wonders recorded 
by these historians. 8 — Home's Intro, i. 617. 

The sixth sign of his coming which Jesus pointed 
out, was the persecution of the Christians. Matt, 
xxiv. 9, 10. Mark xiii. 9. Luke xxi. 12. This 
prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. 

u Previously to the other prognostics of the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, the disciples of Jesus Christ 
were taught to expect the hardships of persecu- 
tion: and how exactly this prediction was accom- 
plished we may read in the Acts of the Apostles. 
There we find that some were delivered to councils, 
as Peter and John. (iv. 5. &c.) Some were 
brought before rulers and Idngs, as Paul before Gallio 

1 Evenerant prodigia — Visoe per caelum concurrere aoies, rutilantia 
armu,et subito nubium igne collucere templum. Expasae repente de- 
lubri fores, et audita major humana vox, Excedere Deos. Simul 
ingens motus excedentium. Tacit. Hist. lib. 5. c, 13. p. 217, edit, 
Lipsii. 

2 Jorton's Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. i. p. 41. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 239 

(xviii. 12.), Felix (xxiv.), Festus and Agrippa 
(xxv.) Some had a mouth and wisdom ichich all their 
adversaries were not able to gainsay nor resist, as it is said 
of Stephen (vi. 10.), that they were not able to resist the 
wisdom and the spirit by which he spake, and Paul made 
even Felix to tremble (xxiv. 25.) and the gospel still 
prevailed against all opposition and persecution 
whatever. Some were imprisoned, as Peter and John 
(iv. 4.) Some were beaten, as Paul and Silas, (xvi. 
23.) Some were put to death, as Stephen (vii. 59.), 
and James the brother of John, (xii. 2.) But if we 
would look farther, we have a more melancholy 
proof of the truth of this prediction, in the perse- 
cutions under Nero, in which (besides numberless 
other Christians) fell those 1 two great champions of 
our faith, St. Peter and St. Paul. And it was nom- 
inis prcdium, as Tertullian 2 terms it ; it was a war 
against the very name. Though a man way pos- 
sessed of every human virtue, yet it was crime 
enough if he was a Christian: so true were our Sa- 
viour's words, that they should be hated of all na- 
tions for his name's sake. Hence arose that common 
saying among the heathens — For bonus Caius Sejus: 
tanquam modo quod Christianus: — Caius Sejus is a good 
man, only he is a Christian." — Home's Intro, i. 618. 
The seventh sign of his coming which Jesus pointed 
out, was the preaching of the gospel throughout 
the then known world. See Matt. xxiv. 13, 14. 
"But he that shall endure (in despite of these per- 
secutions) unto the end, (of the Mosaic age) shall 
be saved," i. e. from the evils coming on the Jews. 
" And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached 
in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and 
then shall the end come," viz. the end of the Mo- 

i Euseb. Eccles. Hist. lib. 2. c. 25. 

2 Tertull. Apol. c. 2. p. 4. edit. Rigaltii. Paris, 1675. 



240 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

saic age. "Accordingly his religion was very 
widely propagated before the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem ; as we learn from the history of the apostles, 
which, in St. Luke's continuation of it, ends about 
seven years before the event referred to. Such 
expressions as in all the world, and among all nations, 
are not to be understood strictly. Learned men 
have involved themselves in needless and inextri- 
cable difficulties by rigorously interpreting popular 
language. A very extensive preaching of Christ is 
sufficient to fulfil the prediction. To this St. Paul 
appeals as a known fact: " Have they not heard ? 
Yes, verily, their sound has gone into all the earth, 
and their words unto the ends of the world." Rom. 
x. 18. " The gospel is come unto you (Collossians) 
as it is in all the world." Col. i- 6. " It has been 
preached to every creature under heaven." Col. i. 
23. The epistles now extant were addressed to 
Christians at Rome, and in various parts of Greece 
and Asia." — JMwcome's Observations, 193, 194. 

We have thus noticed the signs of the coming 
of Christ, which he himself pointed out, and have 
seen that they all appeared previously to the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, at the end of the Mosaic 
age. Having faithfully forewarned his followers of 
the judgments which were soon to fall upon his 
enemies, Jesus, in the next place, proceeds to give 
them directions in what way they shall best escape 
the threatening calamities. "When ye therefore 
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of 
by Daniel the prophet (chap, ix. and xi.) stand in 
the holy place;" i. e, when ye see the Roman 
armies encamping in Judea, the holy land; "then 
let them which be in Judea flee into the moun- 
tains." Matt. xxiv. 15, 16. 

" As all these mountainous countries remained 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 241 

in obedience to the Romans, those who fled into 
them were safe. In the twelfth year of Nero, Jo- 
sephus informs us that Cestius Gallus, the president 
of Syria, came with a powerful army against Jeru- 
salem, which he might have assaulted and taken : 
but without any just reason, and contrary to the 
expectation of all, he raised the siege and departed. 
Immediately after his retreat, "many of the princi- 
pal Jewish people forsook the city, as men do a 
sinking ship.'- 1 And a few years afterwards, when 
Vespasian was drawing his forces towards Jerusa- 
lem, a great multitude fled from Jericho into the 
mountainous country for their security. 2 Among these 
it is probable that there were some Christians ; but 
we learn more certainly from ecclesiastical histo- 
rians, 3 that, at this juncture, all who believed in 
Jesus Christ, warned by this orccle or prophecy, 
quitted Jerusalem, and removed to Pella, and other 
places beyond the river Jordan : and thus marvel- 
lously escaped the general shipwreck of their coun- 
try : for we do not read any where that so much 
as one Christian perished in the siege of Jerusa- 
lem." — Home's Intro, i. 619. 

u Let him which is on the housetop not come 
down to take any thing out of his house." Ver. 17. 
The houses of the Jews, as well as those of the an- 
cient Greeks and Romans, were flat on the top for 
them to walk upon, and had usually stairs on the 
outside, by which they might ascend and descend 
without coming into the house. In the eastern 
walled cities these flat roofed houses, usually form- 
ed continued terraces from one end of the city to 

, Josephus, de Bell. Jud. lib. 2. c. 19. sec. 6. c. 20. sec. 1. 

2 Ibid. lib. 4. c. 8. sec. 2. 

3 Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. lib, 3. c, 6. Epiphanius adversus Naza- 
rceos, lib. i. sec. 7. 

16 



242 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the other, which terraces terminated at the gates. 
He therefore who is walking and regaling himself 
upon the house top, let him not come down to take 
any thing out of his house ; but let him instantly 
pursue his course, along the tops of the houses, 
and escape out of the city gate as fast as he possi- 
bly can. 1 "Neither let him which is in the field 
return back to take his clothes," ver. 18. Circum- 
stances would render it necessary that their flight 
should be sudden and hasty as Lot's was out of 
Sodom. u Woe unto them that are with child, and 
to them that give suck in those days." Verse 19. 
The melancholy force of this premonition, has been 
felt by every one who has read the account given 
by Josephus of the calamities of Jewish mothers, 
at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, " But 
pray ye that your flight (from the city into the 
mountainous country) be not in the winter, neither 
on the Sabbath day." Ver. 20. Travelling in the 
winter would, of course, be more difficult than any 
other time, from the hardness of the season, the 
badness of the roads, and the shortness of the days; 
and on the Sabbath day, it was unlawful to travel 
any considerable distance, a Sabbath day's journey 
among the Jews being but about a mile. After 
having forewarned his followers to flee from Judea, 
Jesus gives them the reason why they should go. 
"For then shall be great tribulation (in the holy 
land) such as was not since the beginning of the 
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Verse 
21. Compare Ezek. v. 9. Dan. xii. 1. Joel ii. 2. 
Josephus uses very similar language in describing 
the misery of the Jews. To shew the extreme 
rigor of the calamities, Jesus asserted, that if this 
time of trouble was of long continuance, all would 

1 Bishop Newton, on the Prophecies, Dis. xix. p. 2. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 243 

have been cat off. " And except those days should 
be shortened, no flesh should be saved ; but for the 
elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Verse 
22. " The elect" is a phrase used to signify those 
whom God had chosen to believe in Christ in that 
age, who are spoken of again in ver. 24. The Sa- 
viour then proceeded to shew, 23 — 26, that even 
during the calamities, false Christs and prophets 
would arise, and pretend to do great wonders, lead- 
ing the people into deserts and secret places. To 
these Jesus bids his followers not give heed. The 
coming of Christ would not be secret, but open ; 
the displays of divine justice would be evident, as 
lightning, " which cometh out of the east, and 
shineth even unto the west" — thus was the com- 
ing of the Son of man to be. 27. The coming of 
Christ to destroy the Jews took place in the ap- 
proach of the Roman armies to Jerusalem ; none 
need go into secret places to find it, they would see 
it in the city ; for " wheresoever the carcass is, 
there will the eagles be gathered together." Verse 
28. The carcass was in the city, and thither would 
the Romans repair. 

After having thus described the tribulation about 
to come on Judea, by which the destruction of the 
city was to be preceded, and given his followers 
the necessary directions by observing which they 
might escape it, Jesus proceeds to say, "Immediate- 
ly after the tribulation of those days shall the sun 
be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 
and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers 
of the heaven shall be shaken: and then shall appear 
the sign of the Son of man in heaven ; and then 
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they 
shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of 
heaven with power and great glory. And he shall 



244 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, 
and they shall gather together his elect from the 
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 
Verse 29 — 31. This language is couched in the 
strong eastern manner. It is not, of course, to be 
understood literally ; but was designed to show that 
the high powers of the Jewish nation would be 
overthrown at the coming of Christ. " The He- 
brew poets, to express happiness, prosperity, the 
installation and advancement of states, kingdoms 
and potentates, make use of images taken from the 
most striking parts of nature, from the heavenly 
bodies, from the sun, moon and stars ; which they 
describe as shining with increased splendor, and 
never setting ; the moon becomes like the meridian 
sun, and the sun's light is augmented seven fold : 
see Isaiah xxx. 26, new heavens and a new earth 
are created, and a brighter age commences. On 
the contrary the overthrow and destruction of king- 
doms, is represented by opposite images : the stars 
are obscured, the moon withdraws her light, and 
the sur shines no more ; the earth quakes, and the 
heavens tremble ; and all things seem tending to 
their original chaos." 1 Arch Bishop Newcome 
says, on Matt. 'xxiv. 29, " the style here is very 
eastern, and imports that the Jewish rulers, and 
their church and nation, should be involved in ruin: 
and that this should be effected soon after the com- 
mencement of the troubles alluded to ; or in a time 
which, considering the difficulties of the undertak- 
ing, might properly be called short. It is the lan- 
guage of prophecy, to which the Jews were accus- 
tomed." 2 Bishop Newton, on the same passage, 
remarks, " commentators generally understand [i. 

1 Lowth on Isaiah, note on xiii. 10. 

2 Observations, chap. iii. sec. 1. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 245 

e. at the time the Bp. wrote] this and what follows 
of the end of the world, and of Christ's coming to 
judgment ; but the words 'immediately after the tribu- 
lation of those days,' show evidently that he is not 
speaking of any distant event, but of something im- 
mediately consequent upon the tribulation before 
mentioned, and that must be the destruction of Je- 
rusalem. It is true, his figures are very strong, 
but no stronger than are used by the ancient proph- 
ets upon similar accasions." 1 The following ex- 
tracts from the works of Dr. Warburton confirm 
what is said by the writers already quoted. "The 
prophecy of Jesus, concerning the approaching de- 
struction of Jerusalem by Titus, is conceived in 
such high and swelling terms, that not only the 
modern interpreters, but the ancient likewise, have 
supposed, that our Lord interweaves it into a direct 
prediction of his second coming to judgment. Hence 
arose a current opinion in those times, that the con- 
summation of all things was at hand; which hath 
afforded a handle to an infidel objection in these, in- 
sinuating that Jesus, in order to keep his followers 
attached to his service, and patient under suffer- 
ings, flattered them with the near approach of those 
rewards, which completed all their views and ex- 
pectations. To which, the defenders of religion 
have opposed this answer, That the distinction of 
short and long, in the duration of time, is lost in 
eternity, and with the Almighty*, a thousand years are 
but as yesterday, &c. 

" But the principle both go upon is false ; and if 
what hath been said be duly weighed, it will ap- 
pear, that this prophecy doth not respect Christ's 
second coming to judgment, but his first; in the abo- 
lition of the Jewish policy, and the establishment of 

i Dissertations oh the Prophecies, chap. xx. part 3. 



246 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

the Christian ; That kingdom of Christ, which com- 
menced on the total ceasing of the theocracy. For 
as God's reign over the Jews entirely ended with 
the abolition of the temple-service, so the reign of 
Christ, in spirit and in truth, had then its first begin- 
ning. 

u This was the true establishment of Christianity, 
not that effected by the donations or conversions of 
Constantine. Till the Jewish law was abolished, 
over which the Father presided as king, the reign 
of the Son could not take place ; because the sov- 
ereignty of Christ over mankind, was that very sov- 
ereignty of God over the Jews, transferred, and 
more largely extended. 

" This therefore being one of the most important 
seras in the (economy of grace, and the most awful 
revolution in all God's religious dispensations ; we 
see the elegance and propriety of the terms in 
question, to denote so great an event, together 
with the destruction of Jerusalem, by which it was 
effected : for in the old prophetic language the 
change and fall of principalities and powers, wheth- 
er spiritual or civil, are signified by the shaking 
heaven and earth, the darkening the sun and moon 
and the falling of the stars ; as the rise and estab- 
lishment of new ones are by processions in the 
clouds of heaven, by the sound of trumpet, and the 
assembling together of hosts and congregations." 1 

This language, as he observes 2 in another place, 
was borrowed from the ancient hieroglyphics: 
"For as in the hieroglyphic writing the sun, moon, 
and stars were used to represent states and em- 
pires, kings, queens, and nobility ; their eclipse and 
extinction, temporary disasters, or entire over- 
throw, &c so in like manner the holy prophets call 

1 WarburtorTs Julian, book 1. chap. 1. p. 21. &c. 2d edit, 

2 Divine Legation, vol. 2, book 4, see. 4. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 247 

kings and empires by the names of the heavenly 
luminaries; their misfortunes and overthrow are 
represented by eclipses and extinction ; stars fall- 
ing from the firmament are employed to denote the 
destruction of the nobility, &c. In a word, the 
prophetic style seems to be a speaking hieroglyphic. 
These observations will not only assist us in the 
study of the Old and New Testament, but likewise 
vindicate their character from the illiterate cavils 
of modern libertines, who have foolishly mistaken 
that for the peculiar workmanship of the prophet's 
heated imagination, which was the sober establish- 
ed language of their times, and which God and his 
Son condescended to employ as the properest con- 
veyance of the high mysterious ways of Providence 
in the revelation of themselves to mankind "* 

u See now verses 30, 31. "And then shall ap- 
pear the sign of the Son of man in heaven : and 
then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and 
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds 
of heaven with power and great glory. And he 
sha • send his angels with a great sound of a trum- 
pet, and they shall gather together his elect from 
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the oth- 
er. " This language, highly figurative, is designed 
to show, that at the time spoken of, viz. "imme- 
diately after the tribulation of those days," there 
should be a remarkable interposition of Providence, 
in favor of the church, when the tribes of the 
lana 2 would mourn, and the followers of Christ 

i To show that this kind of language was familiar to the Jewish 
prophets, we refer to the following passages. Job xxx. 28. Eccles. 
xii. 2. Isaiah xiii. 10, xxiv. 23. xxxiv. 4. lx. 20. Jer. iv. 23. xv. 9. 
Exk. xxxii. 7, 8. Dan.viii. 10. Joel ii. 10, 28 — 32, comp. Acts ii. 16 — 
21. Amos v. 20 and viii. 9. The new Testament writers copied the 
same language. Acts ii. 16 — 21. 2 Peter iii. 10 — 12. Rev. iv. 
12—14. 

2 Bishop Pearce's Coau 



248 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

would be gathered together from all parts of Judea. 
Arch Bishop Newcome paraphrases this passage as 
follows : " At that time shall appear plain tokens of 
my coming to execute judgment on the Jews : 
which shall cause great lamentation to all the 
tribes of the land : and there shall be as clear a dis- 
play of my coming, and of my glorious power, as if 
I had been seen riding on the clouds of heaven, and 
thus giving sensible evidence that the fearful pun- 
ishment was inflicted by me. And I will employ 
such means to make disciples throughout the world, 
when the power of the Jews, and their opposition 
to the gospel are at an end [or, to preserve those 
from perishing with the Jews, who persevere in 
their faith, and remember my warnings] as shall 
appear like sending heavenly messengers, to gather 
them from the four winds, from one extremity of 
the heaven to the other, or from the extremity of 
the earth to the extremity of the heaven." 1 That 
all which is mentioned in verses 30, 31, took place 
at the destruction of Jerusalem, is evident from 
verse 34 ; and as it is said, " they shall see the Son 
of man coming in the clouds of heaven," so it is said 
Matt. xvi. 28. " There be some standing here 
which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son 
of man coming in his kingdom." 

After having thus pointed out the signs of his 
coming, Jesus in the next place proceeds to show 
at what time it should take place, agreeably to the 
question of the disciples, already noticed, "when 
shall these things be^ and what shall be the sign of thy 
coming, and of the end of the age ?" Verse 3. He 
in the first place shows, that his coming would im- 
mediately succeed the signs of its approach : and 
uses a beautiful comparison to illustrate this fact, 

1 Observations, chap. iii. sec. 1. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 249 



] 



See verse 32. "Now learn a parable of the fig 
tree : when his branch is yet tender, and putteth 
forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh." And 
then he makes the comparison, verse 33. u So 
likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, 
know that it (his coming, as in ver. 30) is near, 
even at the doors ;" to which he adds to remove all 
doubt, verse 34, cc Verily I say unto you, this gen- 
eration shall not pass till all these things be fulfill- 
ed." As surely as they might judge that summer 
was nigh, when they saw the fig tree put forth its 
leaves ; so they might judge that the coming of 
Christ was near, when they saw the signs which 
he had pointed out : it certainly should come during 
that generation. It is a strange and unwarrantable 
perversion of the Saviour's meaning to represent 
him as saying, 4 the race of human beings shall not 
pass from the earth till all these things be fulfilled;' 
and it is with difficulty we can think those sincere 
who apply the passage in this manner. Dr. Whit- 
by says, u these words this age or generation shall not 
pass away, afford a full demonstration that all which 
Christ had mentioned hitherto, was to be accom- 
plished, not at the time of the conversion of the 
Jews, or at the final day of judgment, but in that 
very age, or whilst some of that generation of men 
lived, for the phrase never bears any other sense 
in the New Testament, than the men of this age." 1 
Having thus stated the fact that his coming should 
take place during that generation, Jesus proceeded to 
shew that the particular day or season when it would 
happen, they would not know ; and therefore they 
were required to be continually watchful, lest their 
Lord should come in an hour that they knew not* 
See verse 36. " But cf that day and hour know- 

i Paraphrase and Annot. on Matt xxiv. 34, 



250 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

cth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my 
Father only." It was certainly known that the 
event would happen during that generation, but at 
what particular day or season, was not known. Peo- 
ple who were not expecting it, would be engaged 
in their ordinary pursuits. Verses 37 — 39. " But 
as the days oi Noe were, so shall also the coming 
of the Son of man be. For as in the days that 
were before the flood they were eating and drink- 
ing, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day 
that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until 
the flood came and took them all away, so shall also 
the coming of the Son of man be." The friends 
and enemies of Christ would be engaged in the 
same pursuits ; the former would be saved the 
latter lost. Verses 40, 41. " Then shall two be in 
the field ; the one shall be taken, and the other 
left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; 
the one shall be taken, and the other left." The 
work of grinding in Judea was done by women, in 
portable mills, which it took two of them to manage. 

In verses 42 — 44, Jesus urges the duty ot watch- 
fulness, the necessity of which he had shown in 
the preceding verses The whole relates to his 
coming at the destruction of Jerusalem, as verses 
42 and 44 both *how tk Watch, therefore, tor ye 
know not what hour your Lord doth come" "There- 
fore, be ye also ready : for in such an hour as ye 
think not, the Son of man cometh." 

The duty of faithfulness is next enforced on the 
disciples, from verse 45 to the end of the chapter; 
" Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom 
his lord hath made ruler over his household, to 
give them meat in due season ? Blessed is that 
servant whom his lord, when he com*tfh, shall find so 
doing." It must be perceived that this refers to 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 251 

the coming of Christ at the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, when he would reward his faithful disciples. 
"But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 
my lord delayeth his coming ," i. e. should flatter him- 
self with such a vain hope, and should therefore be 
unfailh ul, u the lord of that servant shall come in a 
day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour 
that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, 
and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites : 
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 75 
Thus endeth the 24th chapter. And it will be 
seen that the unfaithful disciples of Christ were to 
have, the same portion with the hypocritical Jews, 
viz. the Scribes and Pharisees, to whom Jesus fre- 
quently and very justly gave that appellation. See 
Matt. vi. 2, 5, 16. xv. 7. xvi. 3. xxii. 18. xxiii. 13, 
14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29. And it should be remarked, 
that the punishment described in the last verse of 
chapter xxiv. is the same punishment, which, un- 
der several of the parables, we have shown was to 
be inflicted upon the unbelieving Jews See all 
the passages wher£ the phrase " weeping and 
gnashing of teeth" occurs. 

We are now brought, in regularly pursuing the 
context, to the 25th chapter, which most certainly 
is a continuation of the same subject which we 
have pursued through the 24th. See xxv. 1. 
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven, be likened 
unto ten virgins ." There had been no other lime 
previously mentioned, to which the adverb here 
used can be refered, except the time of ChrisVs 
coming at the destruction of Jerusalem. Then Jesus 
found some of his disciples watchful, and some 
careless, and the kingdom of heaven was at that time 
like ten virgins, five of whom were wise, and icatch- 
ed for the bridegroom's coming ; the other five were 



252 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

careless, and all slumbered and slept. The wise 
virgins answered to the " faithful and wise servant," 
xxiv. 45, who prepared for his lord's coming; and 
the unwise virgins answered to the evil servant, 
who flattered himself that his lord's coming would 
be delayed, and who therefore, prepared not for it. 
xxiv. 48, 49. And hence, in closing the parable of 
the virgins, Jesus makes an improvement of it by 
paying to his disciples, "Watch, therefore, for ye 
know neither the day, nor the hour, w r herein the 
Son of man cometh." xxv. 13. The reader will 
perceive that this argument has the force of dem- 
onstration, if he will compare xxv. 13 with xxiv. 
36, 42, 44, 50. The parable of the unfaithful ser- 
vant, xxv. 14 — 30 was designed to enforce upon 
the disciples the duty of faithfulness in view of the 
coming of Christ, as the faithful servants kept the 
return of their Lord continually in view. The 
lord of those servants returned " after a long time," 
xxv. 19, and so the coming of Christ did not take 
place so soon as many expected it ; and the unfaith- 
ful disciples flattered themselves that their Lord 
" delayed his coming," xxiv. 48. The punishment 
of the " unprofitable servant," is the same precise- 
ly with that of the servant who saying " my lord 
delayeth his coming," smote his fellow servants, 
and ate and drank with the drunken. Compare 
xxiv. 51 with xxv. 30. 

We have now come to the parable of the sheep 
and goats. " When the Son of man shall come in 
his glory," &c. How any reflecting person can sup- 
pose that this refers to any other subject besides 
that which we have traced through the 24th and 
25th chapters, we cannot conceive. The events 
mentioned in the parable of the sheep and goats, 
now before us, were all to take place, as we have 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 253 

said, when Jesus came in his glory. In all his min- 
istry, he never spake of any other coming but that 
which took place at the destruction of Jerusalem ; 
and, in regard to this coming, he declared that 
some to whom he spoke should not taste of death 
till they saw it, Matt. xvi. 27, 28, that the disciples 
should not travel over the cities of Israel before it 
took place, Matt. x. 23, that the apostle John 
should live until it happened, John xxi 2l, 22, and 
that the high priest of the Jewish nation should see 
it, Matt, xxvi 64. By what rule of interpretation, 
then, is the parable of the sheep and goats, which 
certainly was to be fulfilled at the coming of Christ 
in his glory, to be applied to the supposed events 
of the future state of existence ? Men must do 
violence to their own judgments, as well as to the 
word of God, when they give this parable such an 
application. 

It should be remembered, that by the parable of 
the virgins, and of the unfaithful servant, Jesus de- 
signed to show the distinction that would take 
place at his coming, between faithful and unfaith- 
ful disciples ; but the parable of the sheep and 
goats differs from the two former, inasmuch as it 
takes a wider range, and points out the punish- 
ment of the avowed enemies of Jesus. In this the 
separation is not between the different classes of 
Christians ; but between the faithful disciples and 
the persecutors of the church. Hence Jesus goes 
back, distinctly repeats the circumstance of his 
coming, and describes the events which would 
happen at the time it took place. We think then 
we must have shown, to the satisfaction of every 
individual who shall peruse these pages, that this 
whole parable was completely fulfilled at the time 
of Christ's coming to destroy the Jewish state. 



254 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

To the explanation here given a few objections 
may be raised, which we now proceed to answer. 

1. It may be said, that no such judgment took 
place, at the destruction of Jerusalem, as is de- 
scribed in this parable. We think a slight ex- 
amination of the subject will entirely remove this 
objection. At that time a distinction and division 
was made between the real friends of Christ, and 
his enemies, whether avowedly such, or professed 
friends. The former were rewarded for their 
watchfulness and fidelity, the latter were punish- 
ed according to their iniquities. That the parable 
was then literally fulfilled, and that the friends of 
Christ were actually gathered on his right hand, 
and his enemies on his left, is not pretended. Nor 
does the parable assert any such thing ; for if it 
is interpreted literally, it was sheep and goals only 
that were divided- These animals were used to 
represent good and bad men, as they had been by 
the Jewish prophets, Ezek. xxxiv. 17, Zech. x. 3, 
and the form of setting the good on the right 
hand, and the bad upon the left, was drawn from 
the customs of the Jews in their courts of jus- 
tice, those who were adjudged innocent being 
ranged on the right of the presiding judge, and 
the guilty upon his left. The parable is, of 
course, a figure, designed merely to show that at 
the destruction of Jerusalem a distinction should 
be made between the friends and enemies of 
Christ ; that the former would be recompensed 
for their devotion to their master and his ser- 
vice, and the latter for their unjust treament of 
him and his disciples. All this certainly took 
place within forty years after the crucifixion, 

2d. It may be objected, 'that no coming of Christ 
in the clouds of heaven, with the holy angels 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 255 

took place at the destruction of Jerusalem ; that 
Christ has come but once, viz, when he was born 
of Mary ; and that his second coming is not to hap- 
pen until the resurrection of the dead.' The prop- 
er answer to this objection is, that the coming 
of Christ at the destruction of Jerusalem, was 
not a real, personal appearance, but a virtual com- 
ing, in a display of divine power and majesty. 
It was a common thing among the Hebrew wri- 
ters, to represent any signal interposition of Provi- 
vidence, or uncommon display of divine power, as 
the coming of the Lord. This figure occurs both 
in the Old and New Testaments. See the follow- 
ing beautiful passage from the Psalms: u Let the 
heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad ; let 
the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the 
field be joyful, and all that is therein ; then shall 
the frees of the wood rejoice before the Lord ; for 
he cometh. for he cometh to judge the earth : he 
shall judge the world with righteousness, and the 
people with his truth." Psalms xcvi. 1 1 — 13. xcviii. 
7 — 9. This, of course, did not mean a personal ap- 
pearance of the Great Jehovah, but a manifes- 
tation of himself in the government of the world. 
Arch Bishop Newcome says, c: the coming of Christ 
to destroy the Jews was a virtual and not a redone, 
and was to be understood figuratively, not literally." 
Again he says, "the destruction of Jerusalem by 
Titus is emphatically called the coming of Christ. The 
spirit of prophecy speaks particularly of this, be- 
cause the city and temple were then destroyed and 
the civil and ecclesiastical state of the Jews sub- 
verted. The Jews also suffered very great calam- 
ities under Adrian; but not so great as those under 
Vespasian : and the desolation under Adrian is not 
so particularly foretold. But I think that any signal 



256 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

interposition in behalf of his church, or in the destruction 
of his enemies, may be metaphorically called a coming of 
<Jhrist. m Dr. Campbell remarks, on the expres- 
sion, c ' then shall appear the sign of the son of man in 
heaven" ci we have no reason to think that a par- 
ticular phenomenon in the sky is here suggested. 
The striking evidences which would be given of 
the divine presence, and avenging justice, are a 
justification of the terms." 2 Kenrick observes, 
4C the great power and glory of Christ were as con- 
spicuously displayed at the destruction of Jerusa- 
lem, and the other circumstances which accompan- 
ied that, event, as if they had seen him coming 
upon the clouds of heaven, to punish his enemies. 
When the prophet Isaiah represents God as about 
to punish the Egyptians, he speaks of him as rid- 
ing upon a swift cloud for that purpose, Isaiah xix. 
1. In that case there was no visible appearance 
of Jehovah upon a cloud ; but it was language 
which the prophet adopted, in order to express the 
evident hand of God in the calamities of Egypt. 
The same thing may be said of the language of 
Christ upon the present occasion." 3 Dr. Hammond 
interprets Christ's coming, to be a " coming in the 
exercise of his kingly office, to work vengeance on 
his enemies, and discriminate the faithful believers 
from them. 4 Again he says, " the only objection 
against this interpretation is, that this destruction 
being wrought by the Roman Army, and those as 
much enemies of Christianity as any, and the very 
same people that had joined with the Jews to put 
Christ to death, it doth thereupon appear strange, 
that either those armies which are called abomin- 

i Observations, chap. iii. sec. 1. 

2 Note on Matt. xxiv. 30. 

3 Expos, on Matt. xxiv. 30. 4 Par and Annot. Matt. xvi. 28. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 257 

able, should be called God's armies, or that Christ 
should be said to come, when in truth it was Ves- 
pasian and Titus that thus came against this people. 
To this I answer, that it is ordinary with God in 
the Old Testament to call those Babylonish, Assy- 
rian Heathen armies his, which did his work in 
punishing the Jews, when they rebelled against 
him. Christ is fitly said to come, when his minis- 
ters do come, that is, when either heathen men, or 
satan himself, who are executioners of God's will, 1 
when they think not of it, are permitted by him to 
work destruction on his enemies." 2 Dr. Whitby is 
to the same purport. 3 

3. It may be objected that all nations were not 
gathered together at the time of the destruction of 
Jerusalem, Matt. xxv. 32, We reply that all nations 
were gathered together in the sense in which the 
Saviour used that phrase. In chapter xxiv. 9, Je- 
sus says to his disciples, " ye shall be hated of all 
nations for my name's sake." The same all nations 
which hated the disciples, were gathered together 
at the time of the coming of the Son of man. In 
verse 14, we are told that the gospel was to be 
preached unto all nations, before the end of the 
Jewish age ; and in verse 30, that all the tribes of 
the earth should see the Son of man coming in the 
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. .All 
nations, in the sense which the phrase bears here, 
were assembled at the time spoken of : and that 

* Although this may at first strike the mind of the reader as a 
strange figure, yet it is one frequently used at the present time. How 
common it is to sa^ of a great bereavement which a family has been 
called to meet, it is a very afflicting visitation of Providence, — 
God has visited them with afflictions ; — He has laid his hand heavily 
upon them. See Isaiah xxiii. 17. xxvi. 21. Jer. v. 9. vi, 15. xxvii. 
22. xxix. 10. Micah i. 3. Acts xv. 14. 1 Peter ii. 12. 

2 Ibid. Matt. xxiv. 3. 3 Par. on Matt. xxiv. 30. 

17 



258 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

there was a separation at that time, cannot be ques- 
tioned. Eusebius informs us, that the Christians, 
observing the signs of the approaching danger, fled 
to the city, so that not one faithful disciple was 
lost ; while the enemies of Jesus were buried in a 
common ruin. 

4. It may be objected, that as the fire spoken of, 
Matt. xxv. 41, was prepared for the devil and his 
angels, it must be in the future state, especially as 
the Jews were not punished in fire in this world. 
It may be said in reply, that nothing was more 
common with the sacred writers, than to represent 
the temporal judgments which came upon the Jews 
under the figure of fire. See these Notes pp. 5, 
18,19,25,51,52,62. See Isaiah ix. 19. "Through 
the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darken- 
ed, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire." 
xxxi. 9. "The Lord's fire is in Zion, and his fur- 
nace in Jerusalem." Compare with this Matt. xiii. 
42, 50. See also Jer. xvii. 27. " But if ye will not 
hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and 
not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates 
of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: then will I kin- 
dle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the 
■palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." 
The fire here spoken of is certainly descriptive of 
temporal judgments. Compare Ezk. xx. 47, 48. 
See also xxii. 18 — 22, where it is expressly said 
that Jerusalem is a furnace, that the people were 
blown upon with fire, and were melted there. In 
Joel ii, 3, the progress of the armies which went up 
to destroy Jerusalem is thus described : " Afire de- 
voureth before them, and behind them a flame 
burnetii : the land is as the garden of Eden before 
them, and behind them a desolate wilderness ; yea, 
and nothing shall escape them." Jesus saw a pe- 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 259 

culiar fitness therefore in choosing fire as a figure of 
the woes he denounced upon the Jews. It was a 
figure their prophets had used, and with which 
they were all familiar. And when it is said that 
this fire was prepared for the devil and his angels, it 
is a confirmation of the view we have taken of the 
parable. The Greek word diabolos, rendered devil, 
signified an adversary in general, and was very 
often applied to human beings. We have not room 
to quote all the passages at length. See 1 Tim. iii. 
11, where slanderers is a translation of diabolous, and 
women are exhorted not to be devils. In Titus ii. 
3, the aged women are exhorted not to be devils, 
or, as diabolous is rendered, false accuser*. In John 
vi. 70, Judas is called a devil. In the same sense 
the leading enemies of Jesus are called the devil ; 
and hence it is said to the church in Smyrna, " the 
devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye 
may be tried, ,! Rev. ii. 10. Here certainly the 
power by which the Christians were cast into pris- 
on is called the devil The devil and his angels, 
Matt. xxv. 41, were the leading- Jews and their 
emissaries; and those for whom the fire wasprepar- 
ed, were cast into it. 

5. But it may be objected, that this fire cannot 
be said to have been suffered in this world, because 
it is called "everlasting fire," verse 41, and u everlast- 
ing punishment," verse 46 The proper answer to 
this objection is, that the word everlasting is very 
frequently used in the scriptures in application to 
things of a temporal nature, such as are universal- 
ly admitted to be so. The land of Canaan was 
called an everlasting possession to the Jews, Gen. 
xvii. 8. xlviii.4; but every body knows they were 
long since driven out of it. The hills are called 
everlasting, Gen. xlix. 26. The Levitical priesthood 



260 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

is called everlastings Exod. xl. 15, Numb. xxv. 13, 
but it was superceded by the priesthood of Christ, 
Heb. vii, 11, 12. The statutes of Moses were call- 
ed everlasting statutes, Lev. xvi. 34, but they came 
to an end on the appearance of Christ. The moun- 
tains are said to be everlasting, Hab. iii. 6, but no 
one supposes they are indestructible, and must re- 
main forever. The Greek word amnios, rendered 
everlasting, is derived from aion, and must receive 
its signification from it. Now that aion does not 
signify eternity, is evident because it is used in the 
plural number. It would be manifestly improper 
to speak of eternities ; but we fall into the same 
impropriety when we make aion or amnios, signify 
of themselves, endless duration. And not only is 
aion used in the plural number, but words are add- 
ed to extend its signification, even when number- 
less aions are spoken of. Thus Exod. xv. 18, liter- 
ally rendered is, u the Lord shall reign from aion to 
aiGn and farther." Dan. xii. 3. "-And they that 
turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars 
through the aionss or ages, and farther." Micah 
iv. 5. " And we will walk in the name of Jehovah 
our God, through the aions and beyond it.' * As 
the word everlasting is then used in the sacred scrip- 
tures, in a large variety of instances, to signify 
limited duration, we say that when applied to pun- 
ishment it ought above every other case, to bear 
that sense. Jehovah hath said that he u ivillnot cast off 
forever; that though he cause grief, yet will he have 
compassion according to the multitude of his mer- 
cies, for he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the 
children of men/' Lamen. iii. 31 — 33. This senti- 

l Seethe Author's Ed. of Smith on Divine Government, pp. 217 
—227. See also Winchester's Dialogues, Ed. 1831, pp. 53—61. 
Balfour's 2d Inquiry, Ed. of 1826, pp. 311—340. 



NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 261 

merit is utterly repugnant to the doctrine of inter- 
minable punishment ; and requires that the word 
everlasting, in the very few instances in which it is 
applied to punishment, should be understood in a 
limited sense, as it must be understood in most of 
the instances where it occurs. Speaking to the 
Jews of the divine chastisements, the author of the 
epistle to the Hebrews says, c -no chastening for 
the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous, 
nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable 
fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercis- 
ed thereby." Heb. xii. 11. If this chastisement 
were strictly endless, how could it afterward yield the 
peaceable fruit of righteousness ? Is there any af- 
terward to eternity ? Moreover, that the fire, Matt, 
xxv. 41, and punishment, verse 46, are not to be un- 
derstood as endless in their duration, is evident 
from this circumstance. The parable in which 
they occur was spoken of Jews ; and the New -Tes- 
tament writers teach explicitly the salvation of the 
whole Jewish nation. See Rom. xi. 25, 26, and 
Heb. viii 8—11. 

6. The last objection which we can suppose may 
rest upon the mind of the reader is this : the same 
word is applied to life which is applied to punish- 
ment. It is rendered in one case u everlasting," in 
the other " eternal ;" but it is the same word in 
both instances. If it does not signify endless dura- 
tion when applied to punishment, how can it when 
applied to life? On the other hand, if this life is to 
be enjoyed in the future state, why is not the pun- 
ishment also to be suffered there ? 

Answer : The same word is, in the same con- 
nexion, applied to different things, in other parts of 
the scriptures, when, as all acknowledge, one thing 
is temporal, the other endless. Hab. iii. 6. Rom. 
xvi. 25, 26, and others. 



262 NOTES ON THE PARABLES. 

Bat the proper answer to the objection, in the 
case before us, is, we consider that the life spoken 
of in Matt. xxv. 4G, is not to be enjoyed in the im- 
mortal existence into which the human race are to 
be raised after natural death ; but that spiritual life 
which the believer enjoys in this state. St. John 
says, u We know, that we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren." 1 John iii. 14. 
John knew that he had then already passed from 
death unto life; he was then in the enjoyment of 
spiritual/i/e. Jesus saith, u He that heareth my 
word and believeth on him that sent me, hath (he 
then already possessed) everlasting life, and shall not 
come into condemnation, but is passed from death 
unto life." John v. 24. And the original phrase 
here is the same which is rendered eternal life in 
Matt. xxv. 46. We believe that the " everlasting 
life," in John v. 24, and the " life eternal," in Matt, 
xxv. 46, are one and the same thing. This view 
of the subject completely removes the objection 
last introduced. For if the punishment and the 
life, are both allowed by us to be in the same state, 
the objection loses all its force. See of these Notes, 
pp. 12, 21, 22, 187. 

Notwithstanding the " everlasting life" spoken 
of in the New Testament, is applied in these pages 
to that state of rest, purity and joy into which be- 
lievers of the gospel entered, whenever they em- 
braced it, the Author takes this opportunity to sav, 
that he undoubtingly believes that a future state 
of immortality and incorruption is revealed in the 
New Testament. This, like the present existence, 
will be the gift of God ; and cannot, in the nature 
of things, be affected by the conduct of men in 
this life. Whatever men there enjoy will be the 
effect of the constitution in which they are raised 



NOTES OJN THE PARABLES. 263 

from the dead ; and it is our humble hope, inspired 
by the gospel of Jesus, that the whole human race 
shall be brought to the enjoyment of a sinless, in- 
corruptible immortality. 

May the perusal of these pages induce in the 
mind of the reader, a sincere desire to know the 
truth, and to gain a knowledge of the true sense of 
the sacred scriptures. May they inspire him with 
a reverence of the character of our Lord and Sa- 
viour Jesus Christ ; of the manner of his instruc- 
tions ; of the purity of his morality ; of his wis- 
dom in difficult circumstances ; of his kind regard 
for sinners ; and above all, of his obedience and 
resignation to the will of God. May they cause 
him to imitate, so far as human nature can do, the 
greatest pattern of wisdom, meekness, piety and 
benevolence, which the world hath ever seen. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



Abraham's bosom, meaning of, 163 

Axon and Aionios, sense of, 260 

applied both to life and punishment, 261, 262 

All nations, in what sense assembled at coming of Christ, 257 

Anastasis, meaning of, 106 — 108 

Angels, what we are to understand by them, 50, 51 

Appendix to Notes on Par. of Rich Man and Laz. 166 

Aristophanes on the ' wedding garment,' 204 

Axe, parable of, 1 

Barren Fig Tree, parable of, 89 
Bate James, on parable of Rich Man and Laz. 169, 170 

Bethulia, a city refered to by Christ, Matt. v. 14, 8 

Bottles Old, parable of, 64 

" formerly made of skins, 66 

" Bread of Life," meaning of, 112 

Bruised Reed, parable of, 29 

Buckingham, on the towers in vineyards, note, 197 

Builder, wise and foolish, parabie of, 26 

Campbell, Dr. distinguishes demons from diabolos, 34 

on inacuracy of translation of Luke vii. 38, 70 

on the word anastasis, note, 170 

on the parable of the Rich Man and Laz. note, 146 
on the views of the Jews touching future punish- 
ment, 157 
on Matt. xxv. 14, ltO 
on phrase * end of the world,' note, 229 
on coming of Christ being virtual not real, 256 

*' Children of the kingdom," sense of that expression, 45, 46 






266 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



Christ, his benevolence displayed, 32 

coming of, its true time, 50, 200, 224, 225, 226 

represented in parable ten virgins, 217 

do. of unfaithful servant, 220 

supposed to be delayed, 121, 122 

signs of pointed out, 230 — 240 

to destroy the Jews, virtual not real, 254 — 257 

Clarke, Dr. Adam, his view of Gehenna of fire, note, 16 

view of entering strait gate, 23 

application of figure of smoking flax, 31 

on the phrase, sunleleia tou aionon, 49 

his application of parable of Old Garment, 65 

his explanation of Luke xiii. 3 S 5, 92 

his Note on Matt. iii. 10, 93, 94 

on the customs of the east, 130 

on the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, 147 

on Matt. xxv. note, 228 

on the expression " end of the world," note, 229 

Counting the Cost, parables of, 118 

Cross, to bear, true sense of, 119 

Cutting off a hand, meaning of, 11 

Death, figurative sense of, 22 

Debtors, parable of, 69 

Demons, sense of the Jews concerning, 33 

distinct from diabolo>, 34 

correct views of „ 35 

" Devil and his angels," who they were, 259 

JDiaboJos, sense of, 47, 259 

Disciples, ambition of, 186 

" sitting on twelve thrones, meaning of. 186 

Earth, heavens, &c. destruction of not literal, 244 — 247 

this figure common with the sacred writers, note, 247 

Earthquakes, a sign of Christ's coming, 235 

" Elect," meaning of the term, 243 

Endless misery not taught by Christ, 115, 116 

"End of the world," meaning of, 47, 48, 62, 229, 230 

Epithumon, true sense of, note, 146 

Equality, the abomination of all Pharisees, 190 

Eustathius, on the wedding garment, 204 

ie Everlasting," how sacred writers use the word, 259, 260 

"Everlasting Life," meaning of, 12, 21, 22, 187 

Faithfulness, urged in parable of unfaithful servant, 121 

on disciples, 250, 251 

False Christs a sign of Christ's coming, 230, 231 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 267 

Famines and Pestilences, a sign of Christ's coming, 234, 235 

Fearful Sights, a sign of Christ's coming, 236 — 238 

Fig Tree Barren, parahJe of, 89 

Fire, an emblem of the temporal judgments of the Jews, 

5, 18, 19, 25, 51, 52, 62, 258 
Furnace of fire, true application of that figure, 51, 52 

Galileans, destroyed at their sacrifices* 89 — 91 

Garment Old, parable of, 64 

Gehenna, sense of, 14 — 16 

"■. in time of Christ, note. 17 

Good and Corrupt Tree, parable of, 24 

Good Samaritan, parable of, 79 

Grinding, done by women in Judea, 250 

Gulph, in parable of Rich Man and Lazarus, meaning of, 164 

Hades, to be destroyed, 150, 151 

rendered hell, 154 

signifies the state of the dead, 154 — 156 

more often signifies the state of the blessed, note, 154 

how it came to be considered a place of punishment, 157 

why Jesus alluded to it as a place of punishment, 158 

apostles never described it as a place of punishment, 159 

Hammond, Dr. on the phrase sunteleia tou aionos, 49 

his exposition of Luke xiii. 3, 5, 92 

on the wedding garment, 204 

on coming of Christ being virtual not real, 256, 257 

Hand or Foot offend, parable of, 10 

Harvest, a figure, true application of, 48, 49 

Hate, scripture sense of, 119 

" Hath much," " hath but liitle" — sense of these expressions, 221 

Hearers of the word, different kinds pointed out, 39 — 4S 

Heavens, earth, &c. destruction of not literal, 244 — 247 

this figure common with the sacred writers, note, 247 

Hell, and " hell fire," true sense of, 14 

what words it is a translation of, note, 14 

how many times it occurs in the Bible, note, 14 

original sense of the word, 155 

Home, on the storms of Judea, 27 

on Acts ii. 47, 96 

on the False Christs, 230—232 

on the wars that preceded Christ's coming, • 232 — 234 

on the famines, pestilences, &c. 234, 235 

on earthquakes, &c. 235 

on prodigies and fearful sights, &c. 236 — 238 

on persecution of Christians, &c. 238, 239 

on flight of Christians into the mountainous country, 241 



268 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 

Hosautos, true sense of, 92 

Hours of the day, how computed by the Jews, 184 

Houses of Jews, how constructed, 241, 242 

Hugo Cardinal, projector of Concordances, 227 

Impatience of Christians for coming of Christ, 173 

Jericho, road to from Jerusalem, infested with robbers, note, 81 
a station for the priests, 82 
Jerome St. annotation on " smoking flax," 31 
Jesus, proofs that he was not an imposter, 120, 121 
he will accomplish his purpose, 122 
his love of sinners objected to him, 124 
Jewish instructors, customs of, 38 
Jews and Samaritans, had no dealings, 80, 82, 83 
Josephus, his view of demons, note, 34 
his testimony concerning slaughter of Jews at destruc- 
tion of their city, 90, 91 
on the false Christs who appeared previously to the de- 
struction of Jerusalem, 230, 231 
on the wars, &c. 232—234 
on the famines, pestilences, &c. 234, 235 
on the prodigies, fearful sights, &c. 236 — 238 
" Judgment unto victory," sense of, 32, 33 

Kenrick, his exposition of Matt. vii. 24 — 27, 26 

his view of being saved, 97 

on Matt. xxii. 2, 112 

on Marriage Feast, 205 

on connexion of Matt. xxiv. and xxv. 213 

on Matt. xxv. 13, 217 

on coming of Christ being virtual not real, 256 

Kingdom of God, meaning of, 12 

compared to mustard seed, 54 

to leaven, 55, 56 

to a treasure, 58 

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in, 100, 101 

Kingdom of heaven, sense of, 216 

Knatchbull, annotation on "smoking flax," 31 

Laborers in the vineyard, parable of, 182 

«' Last state worse than first," view of, 36, 37 

Lazarus and Rich Man, parable of, 144 

furnishes no evidence of Calvinism, 145 

none of punishment in future state for 

sins of this life, 145, 146 






INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 269 

Lazarus and Rich Man, its literal sense disagrees with preva- 
lent doctrines, 148 — 150 
proved to be a paiable, 151 — 153 
Leaven, parable of, 55 
Life to enter into, meaning of, 12, 21, 22, 187 
Light of the World, parable of, 8 
Lost Sheep, parable of, 123 
Lowth Bp. on the eastern metaphors, 244 

Man, who doated on riches, parable of, 85 

Marriage Feast, parable of, 202 

Feasts among the Jews, 203, 204 

Master of the House, parable of, 95 
Matt. xxiv. & xxv. connexion between, 213, 214, 222, 251, 252, 253 

Morier, on the customs of laborers in Persia, note, 184 

Mustard Seed, parable of, 53 

its great growth in Judea, note, 51, 52 

Neighbor, how this expression was understood by Jews, note, 80 
Net, parable of, 61 

Newcomb, Arch Bp. on our Lord's mode of instruction, 63 

en connexion between Matt. xxiv. and 

xxv. note, 228 

on the general preaching of gospel before 

the coming of Christ, 240 

on the eastern metaphors, 244 

on Matt. xxiv. 30, 31, 248 

Newton Bp. on the eastern metaphors, 244, 245 

Old Garmerit, parable of, 64 

Oti, properly rendered therefore, 72 

" Outer Darkness," places where it occurs, 211 

sense of the phrase, 211 

Parables of Christ, moral tendency of, 136 

Parkhurst, his view of Gehenna of fire, note, 15 

on epithumon, note, 146 

Pearce Bp. interpretation of strait gate, 23 

annotation on "smoking flax, 31 

on application of tares of the field, 49 

his explanation of Luke xiii. 3, 5, 92 

on the word anastasis, 106 

on parable of Rich Mar. and Lazarus, 147 

on the wedding garment, 204 
on connexion of Matt. xxiv. and xxv. 213, 214 

227, 228 

Pearl of Great Price, parable of, 60 



270 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 

Pella, Christians flight to, 241 

Penny, price of a day's labor, 183 

Persecution of Christians, a sign of Christ's coming, 238, 239 

Pharisaical spirit now in existence, 189, 190 

Pharisee and Publican, parable of, 176 

Pharisees described in parable of prodigal son, 131 — 133 

account of, 177 

what they considered virtues, 178, 179 

professed to serve God, but did not, 194 

hated the doctrine of Christ, 195 

Possessions, demoniacal, right view of, 35 

Preaching of gospel very generally, a sign of Christ's com'g, 239, 240 

Prodigal Son, parable of, 129 

Publicans, who they were, 123, 177 

spirit of in the parable, 179 

go into the kingdom of God before Pharisees, 193, 194 

better than they professed to be, 194 

loved the doctrine of Jesus, 195 

Punishment interminable, inconsistent with scripture, 261 

\ 

Resurrection of the just, true sense of. 110 

Rich Man and Lazarus, parable of, 144 

Rich Man shall hardly enter kingdom of God, 185 

Ring confered, a sign of honor, 131 

Sabbath Day's Journey, what, 242 

Samaritan, parable of, 79 

Salt loses its saline quality, 7 

of the Earth, parable of, 6 

Saved, sense of that phrase, 96,97, 185 

Selling a man's family formerly piacticed in case of debt, 75 

Sheep and Goats, figures of good and bad men, 254 

« parable of, 223 

Sheep Lost, parable of, 123 

Silver, parable of lost piece of, 127 

" Smoking Flax," sense of that expression, 30, 31 

Sower, parable of, 38 

Stone of Stumbling, 201 

" by which Jews were ground to powder, 201 

Strait Gate, parabk of, 20 

" to enter, meaning of, 97 

Striving to enter in, necessity of, 98 

why some were not able, 98, 99 

Stuart Prof, on the Hebrew use of words son and child, note, 45, 46 

Supper, parable of, 103 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 271 

Tares of the Field, parable of, 44 

Targums, questionable sense of Gehenna in them, note, 17 

" Taste of Death," a Hebraism, 225 

Teeth, gnashing of, sense of that expression, 212 

Ten Virgins, parable of, 213 

Theophylact, on parable of Rich Man and Lazarus, 166 — 168 

Threshing floors of the Jews, 4 

Towers in vineyards, for what purpose, note, 197 

Treasure, parable of, 53 

Tree, Good and Corrupt, parable of, 24 

Two Sons, parable of, J9X 

Unclean Spirit, parable of, 33 

Unfaithful Husbandmen, parable of, 196 

<c Servant, parable of, 219 

Unforgiving Servant, parable of, 74 

Unjust Judge, parable of, 171 

Unjust Steward, parable of, 137 

" his injustice not commended, 139 

Unquenchable fire, meaning of, 5, 18, 19 

Vineyards of the East, described, 197 

Virgins Ten, parable of, 213 

Warburton, on the Eastern metaphors, 245 — 247 

Ward's account of a Hindoo Wedding, 216 

Wars, a sign of Christ's coming, 232, 234 

Watchfulness, taught in parable of ten virgins, 216, 218, 221 

Wedding Garment indispensable, 204 

" supposed to be referred to, Zech. i. 7, 8, 204 

*< guest who had it not, 208 

" who represented by him, 209 — 211 

Weddings at Serampore, description of, 216 

" Eastern, description, 215 

of the Jews described, 203—205 

" persons must appear at with suitable apparel, 204 

<£ generally solemnized in the evening, 204 

<c great splendor of, 205, 211 

** • ceremonies at, 214, 215 

Whitby Dr. annotation on te smoking flax," 31 

on the expression, the saved, 2 Cor. i. 18, 96 

on the patriarchs being in the kingdom of God, 101 

on parable of Rich Man and Lazarus, note, 151 

on meaning of Hades, 155 

on the destruction of the Jews, 207 

on the guest who had not wedding garment, 210 

on the phrase * this age' or * generation,' 249 



272 INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 

Wine presses, how formed, 197 

Winnowing Fan, parable of, 3 

Wise and Foolish Builder, parable of, 26 

World, end of, 47, 48, 62 

Wrath to come, meaning of, 1 



INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTKATED 



Gen. xii. 3, 


101 


Isaiah, xxv. 6, 


111 


xvii. 8, 


259 




xxxi. 9, 


51, 258 


xxvi. 4, 


101 




xlix. 6, 


207 


xxviii. 14, 


101 




liii. 10, 11, 


122 


xxix. 30,31, 


119 




Iv. 1, 2, 


111 


xli. 42, 


131 




lviii. 2, note, 


146 


xlviii. 4, 


259 




Ixi. 1, 


32 


xlix. 26, 


259 




lxvi. 23, 24, 


IS 


Exodus, xv. 18, 


260 


Jer. 


xv. 7, 


5 


xxxix. 1,2, 


162 




xvii. 8, 


55 


xl. 15, 


260 




27, 


258 


Levit. xvi. 34, 


260 




xix. 12, 


15 


Numb. xxv. 13, 


260 




xxxi. 33, 34, 


116 


Deut. iv. 20, 


51 




xivi. 22, 23, 


2 


xxi. 15—17, 


119 


Lac 


t. iii. 31—33, 


260 


xxxii. 12, 13, 


161 




62, 


108 


Josh. ix. 4, 


66 


Ezk 


v. 9, 


242 


Judges, ix. 8 — 15, note, 


158 




xvi. 10—13, 


162 


xiv. 10, 12, 17, 


203 




xvii. 22—24, 


55 


1 Kings, iii. 11—13, 


88 




xx. 45—48, 


19 


Esther, iii. 10, 


131 




47, 48, 


258 


viii. 2, 


131 




xxii. 17—22, 


52 


Psalms, xcvi. 11 — 13, 


255 




18—22, 


258 


xcviii. 7 — 9, 


255 




xxxi. 10 — 12, 


3 


cxviii. 22, 


201 




xxxiv. 17, 


254 


cxlvii. 3, 


32 


Daniel, ix. and xi. 


240 


Prov. iii. 13—15, 


61 




xii. 1, 


242 


iv. 7, 


88 




3, 


52, 260 


Isaiah, v. 1, 2, 


111 


Rosea, xi. 1, 


161 


1—7, 


93 




xiii. 9, 


24 


ix. 19, 


258 




14, 


151 


x. 33, 34, 


3 


Joel 


>ii. 2, 


242 


xix. 1, 


256 




3, 


258 


xxi. 10, 


4 


Micu 


ih, iv. 5, 


260 



274 



INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED. 



Hab. iii. 6 
Zeph. i. 7, 8, 

iii. 8, 
Zech. x. 3, 
Mai. iii. 2,3. 
Matt. iii. 8, 
10, 



12. 
v. 13, 
14,15, 

29, 30, 
vi. 2, 
5, 

16, 

20, 

33, 

Yii. 8, 

9, 10. 11, 

13, 14, 
17—19, 
21—23, 28, 

viii. 11, note, 
12, 46, 

ix. II, 

14, 15, 
16, 17, 

x. 5, 6, 
23, 
37, 
xi. 30, 
xii. 14—20, 
43—45, 
xiii. 3—8, 

14, 15, 

24—30, 

30 

31, S2, 

33, 

39, 40, 

42, 

44, 

45, 46, 

47—50, 

48, 

50, 



260, 261 
204 

108 
254 
128 
199 

1 

3, 208 

6 

8 



251 

251 

251 

60, 209 

88 

174 

174 

20 

24 

208, 210 

163 

210, 211 

124 

64 

64 

113, 206 

226, 253 

119 

190 

29 

33 

3S 

165 

44 

208 

53 

55 

48 

210, 211 

5S 

60 

61 

208 

210, 211 



Matt. 



XY. 1, 2, 


65, 67 


7, 


251 


24, 


113, 206 


24—26, 


47 


27, 


168 


xvi. 3, 


251 


6, 


179 


27, 28, 110, 214 


224, 253 


28, 


248 


xviii. 1, 


186 


8,9, 


10 


23—34, 


74 


xix. 16, 


183, 185 


20, 


185 


21, 


60 


22, 


185 


23, 


185 


24, 


185 


26, 


186 


27, 


186 


27—30, 


184 


28, 


186 


29, 


137 


30, 


188 


xx. 1 — 15, 


182 


20, 


186 


43, 


101 


xxi. 23, 


191, 203 


24, 


191 


27, 


192 


28—31, 


191 


33—41, 


196 


35—39, 


203 


41, 


203 


43, 


i99 


44, 


201 


45, 


199, 203 


46, 


200, 203 


xxii. 1, 


202, 203 


2, 


112 


2—10, 


111 


2—13, 


202 


6, 


203 


7> 


203, 206 


8, 


207 



INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED. 



275 



t. xxii. 11 — 


13 5 




203 


Matt, xxiv.36, 




249. 252 


13, 






211 


37- 


-39, 


250 


18, 






251 


40, 




250 


xxiii. 3, 






194 


41, 




250 


6, 






104 


42, 


216 


217,252 


13, 






251 


42- 


-44, 


250 


14, 






251 


44, 




252 


15, 






251 


45, 




252 


23, 






179, 251 


45- 


-51* 


250, 251 


25, 






251 


48, 




221, 252 


27, 






251 


49, 




252 


29, 






251 


50, 




252 


30, 






194, 198 


51, 


210, 


211, $52 


33, 






15 


XXV. 1, 




251 


34- 


-36 


» 


200, 239 


1—13, 


203, 213 


39, 






165 


13, 


216, 


217, 252 


xxiv. 3, 




48, 


229, 248 


14- 


-30, 


219, 252 


5, 






230 


19, 




252 


6, 






48, 232 


30, 


210, 


211, 252 


7, 




232, 


234, 235 


31, 




224 


9, 






238, 257 


31- 


-46, 


223 


10, 






238 


32, 




257 


lO- 


-12 


9 


211 


34, 




47 


ll. 






230 


41, 


258, 


259, 261 


13, 






48, 239 


46, 


259, 


261, 262 


14, 




48, 


239, 257 


xxvi. 64, 




253 


15, 






240 


Mark ii 16 




124 


16, 






240 


17 




125 


17, 






241 


21 22 




64 


18, 






242 


iv 3—8 




38 


19, 






242 


11 




165 


20, 






242 


12 




165 


21, 






242 


31 




53 


22, 






243 


32 




53 


23. 






48, 243 


vii 4 




177 


24, 






243 


viii 38 




99 225 


25. 






243 


ix 1 




99 225 


26, 






243 


41 




109 


27, 






243 


43—48 




10 


28, 






243 


x 35 




187 


29, 




243, 


244, 247 


37 




187 


30, 243, 


244, 


247, 257 


xii 1 — 9 




196 


31, 174, 


243, 


244, 247 


9 note) 


198 


32, 






249 


37 




123 195 


33, 






249 


xiii 5 




230 


34, 






248, 249 


6 




230 



276 



INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED. 



Mark xiii 7 




232 


Luke xiv 32 


118 


8 


232 234 


235 


XV 1 


233 


9 




238 


4—6 


123 


20 




174 


a 


127 


22 




174 


9 


127 


27 




174 


11—32 


129 


xvi 15 


113 201 


206 


xvi 1—8 


137 


Luke ii 34 




108 


9 


140 


iii 9 




1 


10 


141 


19 




3 


11 


141 


iv 18 




32 


12 


141 


v 30 




124 


13 


141 


36 




64 


14 


142 


37 




64 


15 


142 


vi43 




24 


16 


142 160 


44 




24 


17 


142 160 


vii 36—47 




69 


18 


142 160 


41 




69 


19—31 


144 


42 




69 


20 


114 


viii 5—8 




38 


21 


114 146 


10 




165 


xviii 2 — 5 


171 


ix26 


no 


225 


9 


176 


27 


110 


225 


10—14 


176 


x 30—35 




79 


11 


125 


xii 13—15 


85 I 


xix 7 


124 


16—20 




85 


9 


96 


35—37 




213 


11—27 


219 


xiii 1 




89 


xx 9—16 


note, 196 


3 5 


90- 


—92 


16 


note, 198 


6—9 




89 


xxi 8 


230 


18 




53 


9 


232 


19 




53 


10 


232 234 


21 




55 


11 


235 236 


24—29 




95 


12 


238 


28 


163 210 


211 


19 


172 


28—30 




188 


28 


109 


29 




163 


36 


172 


xiv 8—11 




104 


xxii 24 


186 


12—14 




104 


xxiv 21 


231 


14 


105- 


-110 


John iii 35 


127 


16—24 




103 


v 24 


187 262 


25 




118 


vi 33—35 


112 


26 




118 


37 


116 


27 




118 


47 


187 


28—30 




118 


48 


112 


31 




U8 1 


51 


112 



INDEX TO TEXTS ILLUSTRATED, 



277 



John vi 54 






187 


Romans xiii 11 


217 


63 






112 


xvi 18 


25 


70 






259 


1 Cor. i 7 


172 


x 37 






30 


18 


96 


38 






30 


x 11 


48 230 


xii 32 






116 


xv 55 


151 


38— 


40 




165 


Gal. iii 7 


101 


xvii 3 




116 


187 


9 


101 


xxi 21 






253 


14 


101 


22 






253 


29 


101 


22- 


-33 




226 


iv 28 


101 


Acts ii 27 






154 


Ephes. i 10 


127 


47 






96 


14 


127 


iv 4 






239 


ii 12 


114 162 


5 






2'66 


v 29 


119 


vi 10 






23, 


Col. i 6 


240 


-i vii 59 






239 


23 


240 


xi 28 






234 


iv 2 


172 


xii 2 






239 


1 Thess. v 2 


217 


5 






172 


6 


217 


xiii 16 






96 


17 


172 


46 






206 


2 Thess. iii 5 


172 222 


46 47 


, 113 114 


1 Tim. ii 4 


122 


xvi 23 






239 


iii 11 


259 


31 






96 


Titus ii 3 


259 


xviii 12 






239 


Hebrews iii 18 


101 


xxiv 






239 


19 


101 


25 






239 


iv 2 


101 


XXV 






239 


5 


101 


xxviii 26— 


-28 




165 


8 


101 


28 




96 


113 


vii 11 


260 


Romans vi 7 






101 


12 


260 


22 






187 


viiiS— 11 


261 


ix 4 






161 


10 


116 


5 






161 


11 


102 116 


13 






119 


ix 26 


48 230 


31 






101 


x 7 


122 


32 




101 


201 


25 


175 


x 18 






240 


36 


172 


xi 8 






165 


37 


172 


11 






196 


xii 11 


260 


22 






117 


James v 7 8 


173 222 


25 




165 


261 


1 John iii 14 


260 


26 


102 116 


261 


v 13 


187 


30 






165 


Rev. ii 10 


259 


30- 


-32 




117 


xx 14 


151 


31 


4 




165 


xxii 11 note, 


100 


xii 12 






171 







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